When You Say Nothing At All
by Heavenly Azure
Summary: I knew that Daryl would survive the disease. He was going to make it however long the world was in peril. As I watched him go, I wondered about my own fate. I didn't know how to hunt or shoot a gun. I had never been in a position where I had to survive with only the clothes on my back and a knife. "Wait." I said, walking after him. He turned. "Just in case I don't see you again."
1. Three Favors

_When You Say Nothing At All_

**Three Favors**

"_In breaking news out of Tulsa, Oklahoma, a family of five has been quarantined to a wing at St. John Medical Center. The family, whose name is currently being withheld, was rushed to St. John early yesterday morning. When asked for a comment regarding the condition of the family, Dr. James Thomas declined…"_

"Roslyn, will you turn that off for me?" Ms. Danvers asked as I adjusted her pillows.

"Of course, Ms. Danvers." I told her, letting go of her pillows so that I could reach for the remote control on the nightstand. I turned the TV off, setting the controller on the bed just in case Ms. Danvers changed her mind later.

"Thank you, sweetheart." Ms. Danvers smiled up at me, her wrinkles multiplying.

"You're welcome, Ms. Danvers." I returned her smile. "Can I do anything else for you right now? Can I adjust the bed? Are you thirsty?"

"I'm fine, thank you, dear." Ms. Danvers assured me, laying back against her pillows.

"All right. Anna will be in later to bring dinner. It's a good one tonight." I said with a smile.

"Have you seen your grandfather today, honey?" Ms. Danvers asked as I headed for the door.

"Not yet. I told him that I would stop by and have dinner with him." I replied, glancing back.

"Good."

I nodded, giving Ms. Danvers one last smile before I left her room. I finished checking in on everyone on my hall before I went to the nurses' station to check in. Loretta, the head nurse, was on the phone when I walked up. I waited patiently for her to finish up.

"That was Urgent Care. They need one of our volunteers." Loretta said, hanging up the phone.

"Loretta-"

"Roslyn, we have only two volunteers here tonight." Loretta interrupted.

"Can't you send Victoria?" I pleaded.

"I wish I could. The fact of the matter is, you've volunteered at Urgent Care before. I don't feel comfortable sending Victoria. You and I both know that nights at Urgent Care can be busy and stressful."

"Loretta, I promised that I would have dinner with my grandpa tonight." I murmured, leaning over the counter towards her.

"I'm sorry, Roslyn. I really am." Loretta replied sympathetically, her expression matching her tone.

I sighed.

"Will you tell him what happened?" I asked.

"Of course. I'll go now." Loretta stood up, smoothing out her scrubs. She looked up at me. "In fact, after Anna serves dinner, I'll go and sit with him for a little while. Would that make you feel better?"

"Thank you." I replied gratefully, nodding.

While Loretta went to tell my grandpa that I had to cancel on him for the second time in a row, I went to collect my things from the locker room in the basement. I adjusted my topknot in the mirror before grabbing my duffel bag and heading back up to the first floor. As I headed out the security doors, the shuttle pulled up in front of me and stopped. The door swung open.

"Get in, Roslyn." Maddox waved his arm from the driver's seat. "Loretta beeped me."

I climbed into the shuttle, sitting in the back with my bag.

"Thanks." I muttered halfheartedly, staring out the window.

"What's up with you?" Maddox asked, glancing at me in the rearview mirror.

"Nothing."

It was silent for the rest of the ride over to Urgent Care. Maddox let me off out front, waving to me before he pulled away.

I went inside, and immediately Dr. Carlton put me to work. He guided me into the only empty exam room, handing me a stack of paperwork and manila envelopes a mile high, it seemed. I settled into a swivel chair, setting the stack on the floor. Before I got to work, I pulled my iPod out of my pocket. I shoved the ear buds into my ears, selecting one of the few artists available. As music floated into my ears, I began looking over the paperwork and scribbling away.

I was only a third of the way through the papers when the door opened. Had I not seen it out of the corner of my eye, I might not have noticed over the sound of singing in my ears. I glanced up momentarily to see a nurse waving to an invisible person to enter the room. I looked back down at the folder I was currently working on.

When I finished the folder, I glanced back up. An older man, in his forties or fifties, was sitting on the exam table. His wife beater was soaked in bright, red blood. The source of the bleeding was his nose, which was visibly broken. Though he had a broken nose, the older man was grinning like a crazed person. He was getting blood all over his teeth that way. The nurse was sitting on a stool in front of the exam table, peering into a folder of her own.

I looked back down, picking up the next piece of paper I had to look over. Suddenly, there was a tapping on my shoulder. I looked up at the nurse, removing one ear bud.

"I'll be right back. The doctor will be in soon." She told me, stressing the words unnecessarily.

"Okay." I replied, confused by her tone and the expression on her face.

I returned to the paperwork as she left the room.

"What _is_ that thing on her head?" The injured man suddenly asked, sounding amused.

"Excuse me?" I asked, looking up from my paperwork. "Were you talking to me?"

The man with the broken nose looked at me.

"Does it look like I was talkin' to you, baby cakes?" He asked, his voice raspy.

I suddenly realized that there was another person in the room. In the corner, leaning against the wall, was a second man. He didn't look nearly as old as the man with the broken nose. The man against the wall looked like he was in his late twenties or his early thirties. He had blood on his plaid shirt, but I couldn't see any visible wounds on him. I guessed that the blood belonged to the older man.

The man against the wall spoke, but his voice was quieter and he was standing further away from me. I removed my other ear bud.

"What?" I asked, leaning forward.

"I told you to ignore him." The younger man muttered, glancing back at the older man.

"Oh." I replied, looking back down at my paperwork. "Sorry."

"Since you got them fancy things out of your ears, I can ask you what that thing on your head is. You hidin' something up there, baby cakes?" The older man asked, his grin widening.

I was confused by his question, touching the top of my head. I realized that he must have been referring to my topknot.

"It's just my hair." I answered, taking my hand out of my hair.

"I ain't never seen a woman do their hair that a way before." The older man shook his head.

"It keeps my hair out of my face." I shrugged simply, looking back down at the paper in my lap.

"I can see that."

"Merle, shut up." The younger man grumbled from the corner.

"Don't tell me to shut up, boy. I'll knock your teeth in." Merle threatened with a chuckle.

"Yeah. Right." The younger man huffed. "Look at what happened to your face the last time you got into a brawl, big brother."

I glanced up at Merle, who met my eyes.

"You should see the other fella, baby cakes." He winked, chuckling.

The door opened suddenly, and I quickly looked back down at my work.

"Mr. Dixon, sorry to keep you waiting." Dr. Lopez leaned against the door frame. "Unfortunately, you will be unable to be seen tonight."

I looked up at Dr. Lopez, whose arms were folded across his chest.

"What? That's bullshit!" The younger brother shouted angrily, coming away from the wall. "We were waitin' in the damn waitin' room for a half hour!"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Dixon." Dr. Lopez looked over at the younger brother before looking back at the older brother. "My nurse informed me that you said some very inappropriate things to her. I'm sorry. We can't have that kind of sexual harassment-"

"Harassment? I only told the lady that I'd hang my dick on her rack any day." Merle insisted, chuckling at his own words.

"Mr. Dixon, you need to leave." Dr. Lopez insisted, motioning for the two brothers to leave.

"We ain't leavin' until someone fixes my brother's nose!" The younger brother growled.

"If you refuse to leave, I'll have to inform security." Dr. Lopez replied calmly.

"Call fuckin' security! I don't care!"

I returned the paper I had been holding to the stack before standing up. My movement caused Dr. Lopez to turn towards me.

"I didn't even see you there, Roslyn." Dr. Lopez said to me.

"She prefers 'baby cakes'." Merle corrected him with a grin, showing off his bloody teeth.

"Dr. Lopez, why don't you let me take care of Mr. Dixon's nose?" I asked. "I've seen noses being reset in this building and over at the hospital many times. I think I can handle it."

"Roslyn, I can't have him here-"

"It will only take me a minute to set his nose and a couple more to bandage him up. Mr. Dixon will be out of here within ten minutes." I interrupted.

Dr. Lopez sighed, looking between Merle and I.

"Are you sure you want to be in here with him?" Dr. Lopez asked quietly.

"Baby cakes will be just fine with me. Ole Merle'll treat her real nice." Merle said from the table.

"I'll be fine." I assured Dr. Lopez.

Dr. Lopez gave one last look at Merle and his brother before he sighed.

"All right. I'll give you ten minutes. When that time is up, I expect both Dixons to be gone." Dr. Lopez warned, shutting the door behind him as he left.

"Fuckin' spic." Merle rasped, spitting blood onto the floor.

I ran my hands over my scrubs. My palms were sweating. I had never set a broken nose before, but like I told Dr. Lopez, I had seen it done before many times. I knew how to do it, but I knew that actually doing it myself would be a different experience than just watching it being done.

"Fix me up, baby cakes." Merle said, cracking his knuckles.

"This is going to hurt." I warned him, walking towards him. "It will probably hurt worse than getting your nose broken in the first place."

"I can take it. This isn't the first time Ole Merle's broken his nose."

"Okay."

I raised my trembling hands towards Merle's face. I tried to focus only on his nose, and not on his eyes as they studied me and my shaking hands. He knew I was nervous, and I think he was enjoying it. He grinned as I pressed me hands to his face. I secured his broken nose between my thumbs, taking a deep breath as I prepared to set Merle's nose.

"Boo!" Merle shouted suddenly, jerking towards me.

I released Merle's face, stumbling back, startled. Merle was howling with laughter. I turned my head to see that his younger brother was stifling his own laughter.

I thought about my grandpa back at the nursing home. I was missing dinner with him to have to deal with a crazy asshole. I glared at Merle as I rushed forward, grabbing his nose with my thumbs and snapping it back into place with a sickening crack. Blood rushed down onto my fingers, and I realized what I had done. I took several steps away from Merle, slowly glancing up at him.

"Well, hot damn, baby cakes, you did it!" Merle cried, swiping away the blood on his upper lip.

"Damn." The younger Dixon muttered from behind me.

I breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that Merle wasn't angry with me. While he and his brother exchanged words, I gathered up the bandaging and medical tape from the cabinet. When I turned back around, I met the barrel of a gun. The medical supplies fell to the floor as I raised my hands, taking a step away from the gun Merle was pointing at me.

"Merle, come on." The younger brother said, tugging on Merle's sleeve.

"I told you. I ain't leavin' without 'em." Merle hissed, shaking his brother's hand off.

"W-Without what?" I asked, pressing my back against the wall.

"Pills, baby cakes, pills." Merle replied with a grin.

"Pills? What kind of pills?" I asked, glancing at the cabinets.

"Anything you got, baby cakes."

"Okay." I nodded.

I slid down the wall, reaching an arm over to the bottom cabinet. I pulled out the tub of over the counter medicine, but before I could hand it to Merle, the younger brother was snatching it from my hands. He set it down on the table, rifling through the bottles and boxes for a moment before turning back around towards Merle and I.

"It's all over the counter stuff."

"You holdin' out on me, baby cakes?" Merle asked, annoyance creeping into his tone.

"N-No!" I cried, slowly getting to my feet. "They only keep over the counter stuff in the exam rooms. All of the prescription medicine is locked up in Dr. Carlton's office."

"Damnit." Merle snarled, lowering his gun. He looked back at his brother. "Looks like I gotta hurt the blonde doctor-"

"Hurt him?" I asked, taking a step towards Merle. He suddenly whipped the gun back at me, closer this time, and I backed up into the wall again.

"Merle!" The younger brother shouted.

"I-If you wait here…I can get the medicine." I said, my eyes flickering from the gun to Merle.

"How're you gonna do that, baby cakes?" Merle asked.

"Dr. Carlton gave me his keys so that I could return paperwork to his office."

Merle grinned, lowering his gun.

"All right." He turned towards his brother. "You go with her. Make sure she don't do nothin' stupid."

I reached into the pocket of my scrubs for the keys. I clutched them in my fist as the younger Dixon opened the door. Merle waved his gun at me to get my attention.

"You try to get help, my brother'll knock you senseless." Merle warned me.

I nodded, sharing a look with the younger brother before I headed out of the exam room. The hall leading to Dr. Carlton's office was empty. I quickly went to the door, fumbling with the keys for a moment before I located the correct key. I was surprised when Daryl opened the door for me from behind, holding it open over my head. I ducked under his arm and went inside of the office.

"He keeps the prescription medicine in that cabinet above his desk." I pointed to the cabinet with the keys. I glanced over my shoulder at the younger brother, who gave me an approving nod as he leaned against the closed door.

I went to the cabinet, trying each key quickly.

"Sorry about all this." The younger Dixon muttered suddenly.

I turned my head to look at him. He was still leaned against the door, arms crossed over his chest, looking down at the floor. I returned to the cabinet.

"I have an older brother too." I replied simply, finally getting the cabinet open. I pulled out the plastic container of prescription medicine, setting it down on the desk for the younger brother to go through. "Since this is only Urgent Care, there isn't much…"

The younger brother rummaged through the container, pulling out pill bottles at random.

"I wouldn't, you know." He mumbled over the sound of the pill bottles clacking against each other.

"Wouldn't what?" I asked, meeting his eyes as he glanced up at me.

"Knock you senseless." The brother replied, making eye contact with me for a few moments before returning his gaze to the container. "I don't make it a habit of laying my hands on women."

I had gathered from his reaction before that the younger Dixon had a problem with what Merle was doing. I wasn't sure if it was because he pointed a gun at me, his stealing pills, or both. Obviously from his reassurance that he wouldn't have harmed me, he at least had taken issue with Merle threatening me with a gun.

"Why'd you do it?"

I realized that the younger brother had finished stuffing his pockets. He was standing back from the desk watching me with a curious expression on his face.

"Do what?" I asked, picking up the half empty container.

"Fix my brother's nose. He was bein' a real-"

"Asshole?" I interrupted, turning to put the container away.

"Watch it, woman." The younger brother growled, causing me to glance back at him. "He's _my_ brother. I can say whatever I want about the son of a bitch. You don't know him."

"I'm sorry." I apologized quietly, putting the container away and closing the cabinet.

"So…why'd you do it?" The younger brother asked, repeating his question.

I locked the cabinet before I turned around.

"I really don't know." I shrugged. "Your brother might have a…"

"Go on. You have my permission this time." The younger Dixon nodded, crossing his arms over his chest again as he waited for me to continue.

"…foul mouth, but he didn't physically hurt anyone. I thought it was wrong to refuse him medical treatment just because he said some inappropriate things." I headed towards the door. "Although, to be honest, I might not have offered to fix his nose had I known he was going to put a gun in my face."

The younger Dixon chuckled from behind me.

"Fair enough."

I was about to open the door, but the younger brother beat me to it again. I was confused by him. He was helping his brother steal medicine from an urgent care center, had snapped at me before when I called his brother an asshole, but he was the picture of a Southern gentleman when he opened the door for me both times.

The younger brother and I returned to the exam room. Merle was waiting, gun still in hand.

"Did she cause you any trouble, baby brother?" Merle asked, looking at his brother.

"No." The younger Dixon replied quickly. "Now let's get out of here."

Merle looked over at me and grinned.

"Thanks for the pills, baby cakes." He returned his gun to the waistband of his pants. "Ole Mere'll have to invite you over for a party some time."

"I don't think so. I don't take pills." I replied as he and his brother started out of the room.

"Who said anything about pills?" Merle asked, looking me up and down once. He winked before following his brother towards the exit.

I watched as they left, wondering what I was going to tell Dr. Carlton when he noticed that half of the prescription medicine was missing from his office.

0o0o0

_"…out of Tulsa. Family X, the unknown family that was quarantined just a few short days ago, has reportedly spread their disease. Our phone calls regarding an update on the matter have gone unreturned. What we do know is that the infected individuals have been transported to Vance Air Force Base approximately 120 miles west of Tulsa…"_

"Rosy, turn that down, will you?" My grandpa asked, pointing to the TV.

"Sure, Grandpa." I replied, picking up the remote and turning the volume down considerably. "How's that?"

"Better." My grandpa turned towards me. "Where has that brother of yours gone? Is he still in the john, Rosy?"

I removed my feet from the bed, turning my body towards my grandpa.

"Grandpa, Dennis isn't here. He's away at law school." I reached for my grandpa's hand. "Remember?"

My grandpa looked down at my hand on top of his. His brow was wrinkled. After a while, he looked back up at me. He still looked confused.

"Law school?" He asked, taking his hand out from under mine.

"Dennis has been away for seven years. Remember?" I reached out and placed a hand on my grandpa's knee. "He left for college right after high school. When he finished college, he went straight to law school."

"This doesn't make sense, Winnie." My grandpa said roughly, slamming his hands down on the bed.

"Grandpa, it's Rosy." I told him gently, standing up slowly.

My grandpa looked up at me. He was still confused, and was becoming frustrated.

"Rosy? I don't know any Rosy." My grandpa insisted, looking away from me. "Winnie!"

I leaned over, pressing the button behind my grandpa's bed. I walked over to the door, waiting for Loretta to come. She rushed in a minute later, immediately turning towards me.

"He thinks I'm Winifred." I whispered.

Loretta nodded, producing a syringe. She walked over to my grandpa.

"Hey, Rhett. How are you doing this evening?" Loretta asked him sweetly, reaching for his IV.

"I don't know you! Where is Winifred? I demand to see my wife!" My grandpa shouted angrily.

I left the room, unable to watch. I walked numbly to the nurses' station, waiting for Loretta to return to the desk. She came back a few minutes later, discarding the used syringe before taking her seat behind the desk with a sigh.

"He's resting." She told me, pulling herself towards the desk.

"Thanks." I muttered, covering my face with my hand.

"What's on your mind, honey?" Loretta asked.

I pulled my hand away, meeting her eyes.

"I volunteered so that I could spend more time with my grandpa. Now, he doesn't even remember me half the time I go and see him." I sighed. "What's the point?"

"The point is that _you_ know who he is." Loretta replied. "Isn't it worth it for those good days he has? Those days where he knows who you are?"

"Those days are far and few between."

"Honey, why don't you skip your rotation at the hospital? I can send-"

"No. It's okay." I leaned away from the desk. "I have nothing else better to do and no one to go home to. I'll be more useful at the hospital."

Before she could argue with me, I headed down to the locker room.

Maddox dropped me off at the hospital, where I was assigned to volunteer my services in the emergency room for the evening. I paced the busy hall, assisting the ER doctors and nurses with paperwork, restraining unruly patients, and anything else they needed help with.

Just after midnight, a young woman was rushed into the ER. As she was transferred to an empty bed in the emergency room, I was surprised to see a familiar face hanging out by the double doors the young woman had come in through. It was the younger Dixon brother. He was shuffling his feet, hands in his pockets, as he studied the floor.

"Gardener, I need you to get any information you can from the guy she came in with." Dr. Jacobs motioned towards the younger Dixon brother, who suddenly looked up and spotted me.

I took the folder one of the nurses held out to me as I went to where the Dixon brother stood.

"Didn't know you worked here." He mumbled.

"I don't." I replied, looking down at the form inside of the folder. "What's your girlfriend's name?"

"Girlfriend?" The Dixon brother snorted.

I looked up at him as he leaned against the wall.

"Do you know her name?"

"Nope." He replied, looking away from me.

"Can you tell me anything about her? Where she lives? What her phone-"

"I don't know nothin' about her." The Dixon brother interrupted.

I sighed, closing the folder. My sigh got the Dixon brother's attention.

"What happened?" I asked quietly. "Did she overdose on those pills I gave you?"

"I don't know." The Dixon brother shrugged. "She was with Merle tonight."

"Why isn't Merle here?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

The Dixon brother scoffed.

"My brother's an idiot. He don't know the difference between passing out and overdosing. He should though. The son of a bitch has overdosed enough times-"

"Why did you bring her in?"

"What?" The younger brother asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Your brother could get in a lot of trouble if she gives his name. Why would you risk that?"

"I wasn't gonna let her die." The Dixon brother muttered. "Besides, she won't say nothin'."

"Gardener!"

I turned to see one of the nurses waving to me.

"Would you mind sticking around for a minute? I really do need to ask you some questions." I said, turning back around to face the younger Dixon brother.

"You got five minutes, _Gardener_." He replied with a sigh.

"Deal."

I hurried over to where the nurse who had called me was standing next to a man seated on a bed. As I approached, I was assaulted by the stench of alcohol. I was surprised that the man was even conscious. He smiled stupidly up at me as I walked over.

"I need you to clean him up while I stitch up his arm." The nurse instructed.

"Okay." I nodded, focusing on the drunk man's bloody face.

"Hey…there," the drunk man hiccupped, "…beauty-ful."

"I need you to hold still while this nice lady stitches you up." I told him, dipping a cotton swab in the bowl of alcohol nearby.

"I…have a…better…idea…beauty-ful." The drunk man burped, the smell of alcohol blowing my way. "It in…involves…you…and me…"

I was startled to feel a hand on my butt. He gave it a generous squeeze.

I was even more surprised when the drunk man's face suddenly twisted in pain. He howled, startling both the nurse and I. She stopped stitching and I let my cotton swab sink into the bowl of alcohol. I was suddenly aware of a presence behind me, and turned to see the younger Dixon brother. He was staring down at the drunk man, who has whimpering in pain. I looked down and realized that the hand that had grabbed my butt was twisted into an uncomfortable position by the younger Dixon brother.

"Didn't your mama ever teach you how to treat women?" The Dixon brother asked, glaring down at the drunk man.

"Sir-" The nurse started to move towards us, but I threw my hands up.

"It's okay. It's okay." I told her quickly. "He's with me."

"He's with you?" The nurse asked skeptically, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yeah…he's my…my boyfriend." I blurted out, my eyes darting from the nurse to the in quizzical staff watching the whole display.

"Boyfriend?" The nurse asked, and I heard the Dixon brother mumble it under his breath.

"Yeah. He's my boyfriend." I said, turning towards the Dixon brother. "Let go of him."

The Dixon brother raised an eyebrow, but he slowly released the drunk man's hand. The drunk man clutched it to his chest, whining in pain and hiccupping violently.

"Sorry, _darlin'_, you know how jealous I am." The Dixon brother said with a smirk.

I glanced back at the nurse.

"I'm going to escort him back to his car. He won't be any trouble." I told her.

I didn't wait for any kind of response. I turned around and started for the double doors, surprised when the Dixon brother snaked an arm around my shoulders as he walked alongside me. I looked up at him. He was still wearing that smirk.

When we were outside, the Dixon brother removed his arm from around me.

"You should go. That guy might press charges." I told him quickly, keeping an eye on the doors.

"He's too drunk to press charges." The younger brother snorted, producing a cigarette from behind his ear. He put it in his mouth, fumbling in his pockets until he found a lighter. He lit his cigarette, and then took a drag before adding, "Fuck that guy."

"Why…did you do that?" I asked, turning away from the doors.

The Dixon brother gave me a strange look.

"Why did I do what?" He asked.

"Why did you hurt that guy?"

The Dixon brother took another drag. He sighed, smoke pouring out of his mouth.

"Returning the favor."

"What favor?" I asked, furrowing my brow.

"Helpin' my brother out. Settin' his nose." The Dixon brother replied.

"Oh." I looked down at my feet. "You didn't have to-"

"I also did it because that guy needed to learn himself a lesson." The Dixon brother took a step towards me as he took another puff of his cigarette. "I don't take too kindly to men who think they can put their hands all over women."

"That's admirable and understandable." I replied, nodding.

"Think so?" The Dixon brother gave me a half smile with the cigarette between his lips. He took it out suddenly, holding it a few inches from his face. "I have a question for you, Gardener."

"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Why'd you help me out in there?" The Dixon brother asked. He smirked before taking another drag from his cigarette. "Boyfriend?"

I glanced down at my feet again, shuffling back and forth.

"I thought it was nice of you to bring that girl in." I looked back up at the younger brother, watching him as he studied my face and listened carefully to my answer. "You could have left her, but you didn't. Besides, it was nice of you to step in when that guy grabbed me."

"You keep calling me nice." The Dixon brother observed, flicking his cigarette away.

"So far, other than helping your brother steal from Urgent Care, you've been nice."

The Dixon brother chuckled.

"Most people wouldn't say that I was nice." He admitted, cracking a full fledge smile.

I shrugged, not knowing how to respond.

"Well, I better get goin'. I gotta make sure my brother's still breathin'."

"Wait." I said before he could walk away. "Do you want to give me your number?"

The Dixon brother raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"I know you and I played boyfriend and girlfriend, but-"

"No." I shook my head, slightly embarrassed. "I meant, do you want to give me your number so that I can call you and let you know how that girl is doing?"

"Nah." The Dixon brother shook his head.

"Okay." I nodded. "Just one more thing…"

"What?"

"What's your name?" I asked, smiling.

"Daryl." He replied.

"It's nice to meet you, Daryl." I told him, sticking my hand out.

"Yeah." Daryl put his hand in mine, giving it a quick but firm shake. "Nice to meet you too, Roslyn Gardener."

I watched Daryl head towards the ER parking lot. When he disappeared from sight, I returned to the emergency room to finish my rotation.

0o0o0

_"The Surgeon General has made a formal statement in the wake of the disease that has swept from Oklahoma to nearly all of its neighboring states. In his statement, issued early this morning at a press conference in Washington D.C., Benjamin Mackenzie listed the symptoms of the disease and warned all U.S. citizens to…"_

Dr. Carlton muted the TV. He swiveled around to face me, sighing.

"As you know, Dr. Lopez, Gordon, and myself have been discussing the situation that occurred last week." Dr. Carlton pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "We have valued your volunteerism and your willingness to assist us, however, we've come to a unanimous decision that we cannot accept your help from this day forward."

"I understand." I replied, nodding.

"I want you to know that we have all really appreciated your help. We wish that more kids your age volunteered." Dr. Carlton said sincerely.

"Thank you for the opportunity to help out. I've learned a lot."

I got up, extending my hand to Dr. Carlton. He shook it for a few moments before letting go.

"Goodbye, Roslyn." Dr. Carlton said, watching me as I headed for the door.

"Goodbye, Dr. Carlton." I gave him a smile before I left his office and exited the building.

It was sprinkling outside. I pulled the hood of my raincoat over my head as I headed in the direction of the hospital. I crossed my arms over my chest, keeping my raincoat closed as I walked into the rain. It was getting darker as I walked. The air was getting cooler.

By the time I reached the hospital, my raincoat was soaked. I went to the locker room to freshen up before my rotation. I hung my raincoat up to dry before I took my hair down. I got my hairbrush out of my duffel bag, pulling it through my tangled, golden blonde hair. When my hair was smooth, I pulled it into a tidier topknot than before. When I was satisfied, I left my duffel bag behind with my wet raincoat.

I was sent to the emergency room.

"Jackie could use your help at bed four. Stitches." Dr. Jacobs told me.

"Sure." I replied, heading to bed four.

"Hello again, Gardener." Daryl greeted me from the edge of the bed.

"Why do we keep running into each other like this?" I asked, my eyes running over the gash above his eye. "What happened to you?"

"Merle." Daryl replied, shrugging.

"Why?" I asked.

"Don't worry about it." Daryl mumbled, suddenly looking around the room. "Where is that damn nurse? I could have stitched myself up already in the time she's been gone."

"Jackie?" I looked around the ER for her, but didn't see her.

I pulled the table closer to me, taking one of the cotton swabs and dipping it in the bowl of alcohol. I raised it to Daryl.

"Do you mind?" I asked, catching his eye.

"Knock yourself out." Daryl shrugged.

I touched the cotton swab to the gash, but Daryl didn't flinch or make a sound. I figured he must have been used to it. I cleaned his gash carefully and gently all the same.

"You a nurse?" Daryl asked suddenly.

"No." I replied, looking away from his gash to meet his eyes for a moment. "I'm a volunteer. I volunteer at Peach Tree Nursing Home, here, and Urgent…well, I _used_ to anyways."

"What do you mean used to?" Daryl asked, furrowing his brow. His gash did as well.

I pulled the swab away.

"Dr. Carlton told me that my services are no longer needed there." I told him, soaking a clean cotton swab in the alcohol.

"Damn." Daryl huffed, shaking his head. "'Cause of me and Merle?"

I didn't answer. I finished cleaning the gash, which had stopped bleeding.

"I'm real sorry, Gardener." Daryl mumbled sincerely, his brow evening out. "Honest."

"It's okay." I shrugged. "I was stretched pretty thin between all three places."

Jackie still hadn't emerged from wherever she was hiding. I looked around the room for her.

"I can go home and stitch this up myself." Daryl told me, standing up.

"Why'd you come in then?" I asked, looking up at him.

Daryl mumbled something under his breath, but I didn't hear him.

"What?" I asked.

"I wanted to see how that girl was doin'." He repeated a little louder.

"Daryl," I sighed, "why didn't you just give me your number?"

"Don't got a phone." Daryl replied, looking down at his shoes.

"Sit down." I instructed him, picking up the needle and thread. "I'll stitch you up myself."

"Thought you wasn't a nurse." Daryl muttered, sitting back down on the edge of the bed.

"I'm not, but I still set your brother's nose." I replied. "Ready?"

"Knock yourself out, girl." Daryl said, visibly relaxing.

I stitched up the gash with ease. Daryl wasn't like other patients that required stitches. He didn't move a muscle. He didn't make a sound. He didn't complain or whine. He sat still the entire time, his eyes watching the needle and thread go in and out of his flesh.

"There. All set." I said, cutting the thread.

"Thanks." Daryl replied, fishing into his pocket. "What do I owe?"

"Oh, you don't owe the hospital a thing." I told him, shoving his worn wallet away. "None of the nurses or doctors here cleaned your wound or stitched you up. I'm a volunteer. I'm not employed here."

Daryl shrugged, shoving the wallet into his pocket.

"Thanks again I guess." Daryl said, getting to his feet.

"You're welcome." I replied. "Tell your brother not to open up your skin the next time you two fight."

"Yeah. Right." Daryl muttered.

I watched Daryl leave through the double doors. No sooner had he walked out, Jackie was scurrying over to the empty bed.

"What was that?" Jackie asked, her hands on her hips.

"What?" I asked, collecting the used supplies.

"You just let him walk out without paying for our services?"

"_Our_ services?" I raised my eyebrows. "_I_ cleaned him up. _I_ stitched up his wound."

"You work at this hospital, don't you?" Jackie asked, folding her arms over her chest.

"Actually, I don't. I volunteer here." I corrected her.

"What's going on here, ladies?" Dr. Jacobs asked, appearing at Jackie's side.

"Miss Gardener allowed that Dixon boy to leave without paying the hospital." Jackie informed him.

"Roslyn?" Dr. Jacobs asked, turning towards me.

"Dr. Jacobs, Daryl was sitting here for quite a while waiting to be seen. Jackie was nowhere to be found. I took care of him myself." I told him respectfully. "Technically, I'm not an employee here. Therefore, why would he owe the hospital a dime?"

"For starters, you used our supplies to assist him-"

"Is that it?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I reached into my bra where I kept an emergency twenty. "Here. This should cover the alcohol, cotton swabs, and thread."

"Roslyn-"

"Please. I insist." I interrupted, holding the bill out to Dr. Jacobs.

"Miss Gardener, this behavior is extremely inappropriate." Dr. Jacobs said sternly.

"I would say that it's inappropriate to leave a bleeding patient waiting." I countered, gaining confidence. I knew that I was right. I hadn't done anything wrong.

"Do you even know who that boy is?" Jackie asked snottily. "That's Daryl Dixon. He and his brother are criminals. They cause a lot of trouble-"

"I thought that this was a hospital. Regardless of who the patients are, aren't you, as doctors and nurses, required to heal them?"

"That's quite enough, Miss Gardener." Dr. Jacobs snapped.

"You're right. It is enough." I agreed, setting the twenty on the table. "Dr. Jacobs, it's been a pleasure volunteering here."

Without another word, I headed down to the locker room. I quickly changed out of my scrubs and let my hair down, shaking it out before I shoved my scrubs into my duffel bag. I slung my raincoat over my arm on the way out the door. As I walked back through the ER to exit the building, I heard whispers and murmurs on both sides of me.

Outside, I headed towards the street to walk home.

"Roslyn?"

I turned around to see Daryl leaned against the wall. He seemed surprised to see me as he flicked his half-finished cigarette away. He slowly walked towards me, raising an eyebrow.

"Whoa." He said simply.

"What?" I asked, looking down at my plain ensemble.

"Nothin'. I just wouldn't have recognized you." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Were you waiting for me?" I asked, wrinkling my brow.

"No." Daryl stuck his thumb out. "I was havin' a smoke. Couldn't help but overhear what happened though."

"Oh." I folded my arms. "Sorry."

"Why you sorry?" Daryl snorted. "You stuck up for me, didn't you?"

"It just bothers me." I replied, looking over his shoulder at the hospital. "People like that are supposed to be healers…"

My eyes flickered back to Daryl, who was studying my face.

"Well, I better head home." I said, waving.

I headed towards the street, walking in the grass growing alongside it. As I walked, it started to drizzle again. I quickly put on my raincoat, pulling the hood up over my hair. I tucked it behind me so that it wouldn't get rained on.

Suddenly, a horn honked behind me. I thought nothing of it until the honking continued. I glanced back just as a truck pulled up beside me. Daryl was in the driver's seat, his arm around the passenger's seat.

"Get in!" He called over the light rain.

"Are you sure?" I called back.

"Get in, Gardener!"

I was grateful for the offer, or rather, demand. I quickly climbed into the truck, rolling up the window as Daryl began driving again. When the window was rolled up, I put on my seatbelt. I noticed that Daryl had removed his arm from my seat.

"You always walk home?" Daryl asked, his eyes on the road.

"Yeah. To and from." I replied, pulling my hood down.

"You ain't got a car?"

"I had to sell my grandpa's Buick." I turned to look at Daryl. "Should I tell you where to go?"

"You hungry?" Daryl asked, turning to look at me as he ignored my question.

"I could eat." I admitted, thinking back on the granola bar I'd eaten that morning.

"Me too." Daryl returned his eyes to the road with a devilish grin. "What do you got to eat at your place?"

I couldn't help but laugh.

"Are you inviting yourself over for dinner?" I asked, glancing over at him.

"Pretty much." Daryl returned my look. "In exchange for the ride and all."

"Fair enough." I replied with a smile, settling into the seat.

It was quiet the rest of the way to the house after I'd given him directions. I listened to the rain as Daryl drove us to my grandparents' house. When we arrived, he pulled into the little driveway. We ran up onto the porch, and I unlocked the door to let us in.

"Make yourself at home." I told Daryl as I hung my raincoat up in the closet.

I passed through the living room and into the tiny kitchen. Luckily for Daryl, I had gone grocery shopping that morning. I pulled out the necessary ingredients for chili. I leaned over the kitchen counter, watching as Daryl studied the photos on the TV stand.

"Is chili okay with you?" I asked.

"Food is good." Daryl replied, turning around to smirk at me.

"Food it is."

I began preparing dinner, looking up every now and then to watch what Daryl was doing. He mostly looked at the pictures on the TV stand and hanging on the walls. After he'd look them all over, he sat down on one of the stools beneath the kitchen counter.

"Can I get you something to drink?" I asked, bringing the pot of half-finished chili to a simmer.

"Whatcha got?" Daryl asked, leaning forward on the counter.

I opened the fridge.

"The usual suspects: water, milk, some orange juice, beer-"

"Say no more." Daryl interrupted.

I pulled a beer out of the fridge, sliding it across the counter towards Daryl. He laughed.

"You ain't got nothin' fancier than PBR?" He asked, popping the top off.

"Sorry." I shrugged, closing the fridge.

"Lighten up, girl." Daryl took a swig. "This is all I drink at home."

"Is it now?" I asked, stirring the chili.

"That about done?" Daryl asked from behind me.

"Almost."

It was quiet then. Every once in a while, I could hear Daryl take a drink of his beer.

"So why do you volunteer?" Daryl asked suddenly.

I turned around, leaning against the oven.

"My grandma died a year ago. Not long after, my grandpa was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. It got pretty bad. I ended up having to put him in Peach Tree. He almost set the house on fire when he left the oven on while I was at work." I looked down at the floor. "I figured that if I volunteered, I'd be able to spend more time with my grandpa."

"Where do you work?"

"You know that diner just off Oak?" I asked, turning back around to stir the chili.

"Savannah's?" Daryl asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah. That's the place." I replied.

"I go there all the time. I never seen you there."

"I work pretty crazy hours. Luckily, Robert works around my volunteer hours." I stopped to consider for a moment. "Now that I no longer volunteer at Urgent Care or at the hospital, I guess I'll be able to work steadier hours. Not to mention, I'll get to work _more_ hours."

"You havin' money troubles?"

"I don't know." I opened the cupboard and pulled out two bowls. "I guess I'm luckier than some."

Daryl grunted.

I spooned chili into one bowl before handing it over to Daryl. His beer was empty.

"Do you want another?" I asked, taking his empty.

Daryl shrugged.

I handed him a spoon before getting another beer out of the fridge. By the time I had gotten it out, opened it, and turned around to give it to him, Daryl's bowl was half empty. I wondered if he had enough money to eat regularly or if he was just hungry that evening.

"How's that working for you?" I asked, filling my own bowl.

"I ain't complainin'." Daryl replied with a mouthful of chili.

I smiled as I leaned against the oven, quietly eating my chili. When Daryl finished his, I set my bowl down and took the pot off the stove to fill his bowl again. He looked up at me, giving me a look I hadn't seen before. It was soft.

"Thanks." He mumbled, watching me spoon chili into his bowl.

"It's the least I can do after all you've done for me." I replied with a grin.

"Let's see." Daryl held out his fingers, counting. "I put that drunken bastard in his place last night and I gave you a ride home today."

"That's right." I agreed, returning the pot to the stove.

"You fixed my brother's nose, got him his damn pills, got me out of gettin' in trouble at the hospital, stitched me up today, and made me dinner." Daryl held up five fingers. "It looks like I owe you three favors."

"Are you a genie?" I teased, returning to my dinner. "You don't owe me anything."

"Why not?" Daryl asked, lifting an eyebrow. "What is it with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You heard what that nurse said about me and my brother. We're trouble." Daryl winked.

I laughed.

"I know."

"So…why have you helped me out so much?" Daryl asked, still looking curiously at me.

"I told you. It bothers me when people who are meant to help others choose not to."

"There's gotta be more to it than that."

I sighed, setting down my bowl.

"When my grandpa first started living at Peach Tree, there was a really rude nurse working there. She always rubbed me the wrong way, but I figured she was just prickly." I moved across the floor to the counter. "Come to find out, she was neglecting a lot of the elderly people there. My grandpa was one of those people she neglected. He had a bed sore and it got infected. He could have died because of her, and she was supposed to be his caregiver."

I ran a hand through my hair.

"That was the day I made the decision to volunteer."

Daryl was quiet, but I could tell he was listening.

After he finished his third bowl, I poured the rest of the chili into a Tupperware container for Daryl to take home with him. He didn't refuse it.

I went to the window. It was raining much harder outside than it had been before.

"Why don't you stay?" I suggested, turning around as Daryl stood up from the stool. "It's late, it's raining pretty hard, and you've had a few beers."

"I ain't drunk." Daryl snorted.

"I didn't say you were." I replied, crossing my arms over my chest. "Come on. You can sleep in my grandparents' room. There's a bed and everything."

Daryl smirked as my lips pulled into a grin.

"You just want me to owe you another favor."

"Trust me. I don't." I told him, going over to the couch. I sat down, flipping on the TV.

_"…Mississippi, Illinois, Iowa, and New Mexico have recently been added to the growing list of states in which the disease has spread to. Benjamin Mackenzie, Surgeon General, continues to urge U.S. citizens to stay out of contact with those who have been infected…"_

"Have you heard about this?" I asked Daryl as he plopped down on the couch next to me.

"I don't watch much TV." Daryl mumbled, staring at the screen.

"This crazy disease started in Oklahoma, but now its spread." I explained, turning my head to glance over at him. "Apparently it's extremely contagious. The military has been evacuating anyone who's shown signs of the disease to their bases for treatment."

"What the hell?" Daryl leaned forward, his eyes glued to the news broadcast.

"So far, it hasn't come to Georgia yet." I turned back towards the TV.

Daryl and I both watched the news in silence. When it was over, I turned the TV off with a yawn.

"I'll show you to my grandparents' room." I told Daryl, getting up.

"You sure it's all right if I stay?" Daryl asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Only if you want to." I said, turning around to gauge his reaction.

"Okay then." Daryl nodded, following me.

As we passed the bathroom on the way to my grandparents' bedroom, I paused.

"Do you want to shower or anything?" I asked, motioning to the bathroom.

"With you?" Daryl asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's not what I meant." I replied, feeling my cheeks burning in embarrassment.

Daryl chuckled.

"I'm good."

"Okay." I nodded, willing my blush to go away. "My grandparents' room is the door at the end of the hall. You're more than welcome to borrow any clothes you find. I don't know if they'll fit, but you can take whatever you need."

"Thanks."

"I'm right here." I backed up into the door across the hall from the bathroom.

"Good to know." Daryl's lips pulled into that devilish grin I had seen before. "In case I get scared."

"I have a hard time believing anything scares you." I replied.

For the first time since meeting him, I really took a moment to look at him. There were no words, no pressing matter to distract me from studying his face and his body. Under the hall light, his light brown hair looked almost dark blonde. It was tousled and somewhat greasy, but it looked surprisingly good on him. It fit his personality. The facial hair on his chin and across his upper lip was scraggly, blending into the stubble on his jaw. His blue eyes were squinting down at me, studying me in the same way I was him. He had a very rugged, but handsome, face. I hadn't taken the time to appreciate it before.

Suddenly, Daryl took a step forward. He pressed one hand to the door above my head.

"When's the last time you been kissed, girl?" He asked, his voice gruffer than before.

"Junior prom." I murmured, looking up into his blue eyes.

Daryl shook his head with a grunt.

"That's a damn shame." He muttered, meeting my eyes again.

"Why do you ask?" I asked quietly, not wanting to disturb the moment or the feeling in the air.

"There ain't no pictures of boyfriends out there." Daryl motioned with his head down the hall.

"_That's_ why?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Daryl chuckled.

I suddenly felt his knee in between my legs. I didn't dare to look down as Daryl's face slowly lowered towards mine. My eyes fluttered closed just before his lips touched mine. It was a test. He wanted to see my reaction. That was evident in the light pressure of his kiss and the way his face was pulled back away from mine. I opened my eyes, and met his. A moment later, I closed my eyes, and Daryl pressed his lips harder against mine. I felt his hand fall from the door to my waist. It was warm, even through the fabric of my shirt. My lips parted beneath Daryl's, and I sighed. Daryl pressed himself firmer against me, his stubble rubbing against my face. As he brought his other hand to my face, his lips parted against mine. I felt the tip of his tongue at the opening of my mouth, and I reciprocated.

Then, all too soon, he pulled his mouth away from mine.

"Mmm. That was fun." Daryl murmured.

I opened my eyes as Daryl's hands left my face and waist. He grinned.

"Goodnight, Gardener."

"Goodnight, Dixon." I replied with a sigh, watching him walk down the hall.

0o0o0

In the morning, after I showered and got dressed, I went into the kitchen to make coffee and breakfast. I set two mugs out on the counter while the coffee brewed, pulling the last of the eggs out of the fridge for breakfast. I mulled over how Daryl probably liked his eggs, not wanting to wake him, before settling on a safe choice: scrambled.

I was surprised Daryl hadn't woken yet. He hadn't struck me as the type to sleep in, and it was already nearly ten. As the coffee and the eggs finished, I decided to go and wake him up. I went down the hall towards my grandparents' bedroom, knocking gently on the door.

"Daryl?" I asked softly, waiting for an answer. When there wasn't one, I knocked again. "Daryl?"

I slowly opened the door, and I understood why Daryl hadn't gotten up yet. He was already gone. The bed was unmade and empty. I checked the bathroom, but it was empty.

I went to the kitchen, opening the fridge. I smiled when I saw that Daryl had taken the container full of leftover chili.


	2. Ring Around A Rosy

_When You Say Nothing At All_

**Ring Around A Rosy**

**VeritasKym: **Thank you for the review! It's really important to me that my OCs are relatable and likeable. I try very hard to make each character seem as realistic as possible. I'm glad that you like Roslyn. I hope you enjoy the chapter!

**zansbitch1: **Thank you for the review! I hope you continue to enjoy my story. Here's your continuation…

**Eminemchick17: **Thank you for the review! I'm really glad that you love it so far.

**Lorem tenebrae: **Thank you for the review! I hope you continue to enjoy my story. I hope that I didn't make you wait too long for an update

** Fuchsia Grasshopper: **Thank you for the review! I really want to try and write longer chapters this time around. You know how Daryl is. He can be so hot and cold. That's okay, though. That man could do almost anything and I'd still be in love with him.

**Leyshla Gisel: **THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEW! Haha. And for the enthusiasm!

**sdxdoll: **Thank you for the review! I'm glad that you love the story so far, and hope that you continue to enjoy it.

**FanFicGirl10: **Thank you for the review! I always look forward to your reviews. I've always viewed Daryl as not necessarily always a _nice_ guy, but a _good_ guy. I really don't think that he would ever physically harm a woman. I really don't think that Merle would either, unless he felt threatened. Although Merle is definitely a lot meaner than Daryl could ever be. Daryl can be such a tease sometimes! But I would accept anything from that man, even just a handshake. Well, here's your update

0o0o0

"…_Marietta, and East Point. Mayor Wilkes has urged all Georgians to formulate plans for their families. There are shelters being prepared…"_

"What a load of horseshit." The older man at the bar muttered aloud.

"You think so?" I asked, setting his order down in front of him.

"Young lady, I know so." The older man replied confidently. "It's all a damn conspiracy."

I stifled a giggle.

"Enjoy your lunch, sir." I told him, unable to hide the laughter in my voice.

"If you think this is funny…"

I tuned the older man out as I headed into the kitchen. I exchanged a look with George, the cook, before gathering up the orders for my other customers. I went out to the diner, setting down the plates at the table where a middle aged couple was staring at the TV. They didn't even notice that their food had arrived.

"Do you think we should get out of Georgia?" The woman asked, her eyes glued to the TV.

"Where would we go, Mary? This thing is spreading like wildfire." The man replied.

I looked up as the bell above the diner door rang, indicating that someone had just walked in. Somehow, I wasn't surprised when I saw Daryl Dixon standing in the doorway. I headed towards him. He met me halfway.

"Where's your section?" Daryl asked, nodding towards the booths.

"Anywhere." I replied with a sigh. "Nobody else wanted to come in. They're all pretty freaked."

"About what?" Daryl asked, furrowing his brow.

"You really don't watch TV, do you?" I asked, pointing to the TV.

Daryl glanced up at it for a moment before looking back down at me. He shrugged.

"Have a seat anywhere you'd like. I'll get you a menu." I said, turning to leave.

"Don't need a menu." Daryl said, heading towards the bar. "Is George back there?"

"He is." I told him, heading behind the bar.

"Tell him I'm here." Daryl said, settling into a stool.

"Okay."

I went to the kitchen and told George that Daryl Dixon was at the bar. He seemed to know what to do from there, so I left him to it.

"Can I get you something to drink?" I asked, coming out of the kitchen.

"Iced tea's fine."

I filled a cup with iced tea and handed it to Daryl.

"Why aren't you freaked?" He asked, fiddling with the straw I'd set on the bar.

"I don't know." I shrugged. "The old guy down there seems to think it's all a conspiracy."

Daryl looked down at the older man, who was muttering to himself. He chuckled, shaking his head as he continued to slowly rip the paper off of the straw.

"Wouldn't surprise me."

I snatched his straw away, peeling the paper completely off before I jammed it into his tea. Daryl looked up at me, raising an eyebrow.

"How's that chili you took with you?" I asked, ignoring the look he was giving me.

"Gone." Daryl circled the tea with his straw. "Merle ate it all."

"Well…good." I nodded, leaning away from the bar.

"Young lady, will you turn that damn thing off?" The older man asked, glaring over at me. "I don't want to sit here and listen to all of these lies."

I looked at Daryl, who was grinning from ear to ear. I rolled my eyes.

"Of course." I told him sweetly, reaching for the remote.

"No!" The woman cried, getting to her feet. "We need to know what's going on."

"We don't need to know what's going on." The old man insisted, turning on his stool. "I told all of you that it's a damn conspiracy!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Daryl raise his glass and then set it back down.

"What if it isn't?" The woman asked, her husband standing up and putting his arms around her.

"Mary, it's okay." He told her gently. "We have a TV at home."

"You're all going to have to go home anyways." George said suddenly, emerging from the kitchen.

"What's going on?" I asked, approaching him.

"Robert called. He wants us to get the customers out and go home." George shrugged.

"Okay." I walked past Daryl, whispering, "Stay there."

I went to the door, propping it open.

"Come on, guys." I waved for the couple and the old man. "Lunch is on the house today. Go on home."

The couple didn't need to be told twice. They hurried out of the diner before the old man had even got up from the bar. He was grumbling to himself as he slowly shuffled out. When he left, I shut the door behind him and locked it.

"Your burger is cooking back there, Daryl." George pointed to the kitchen.

"Thanks." Daryl nodded at him.

"I'm going to clean up and head out. You okay to lock up?" George asked, producing the keys.

"Yeah." I replied, catching the keys as he tossed them to me.

"Stay safe out there, Roslyn. Robert said people are acting crazy out there." George warned.

"I will. You stay safe too."

George went back into the kitchen, leaving Daryl and I alone in the diner. I sighed, leaning against the counter towards Daryl. I looked out the windows, resting my chin on my open hand.

"What's going on out there?" I asked, watching the breeze blow through the trees.

"I don't know." Daryl muttered, stirring his drink. "I only know the little bit I saw on TV last night at your grandparents' place."

"I've heard bits and pieces here and there." I moved away from the counter. "The statements that have been given have been pretty vague. I don't know what to think. Is this thing like all of the panic over Y2K, is it like bird or swine flu, or-"

"Is it a conspiracy?" Daryl interrupted with a chuckle.

"The mayor says people should head to local shelters." I looked down at the floor.

"You goin' to a shelter?" Daryl asked.

"I'm not going anywhere that my grandpa can't follow me." I replied, glancing up at Daryl.

Daryl grunted, returning to placing with his drink.

I went into the kitchen, assembling Daryl's burger. When I served it to him, he dove on it. I watched him scarfing his food, but after a few moments, he looked up at me strangely.

"You gonna sit down?" He asked slowly, chewing.

"Oh. Sure."

I hurried around the bar and sat on the stool next to him.

"So…are you going to a shelter?" I asked, turning towards him.

Daryl scoffed mid bite.

"Do you think this is all just a scare tactic or something?"

"Probably." Daryl set down his burger. He took a long drink. "If it ain't, me and Merle'll just go into the woods."

"The woods?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah." Daryl picked up his burger and began eating again. "We can survive out in the woods with the clothes on our backs and the weapons in our hands."

"Do you guys hunt?"

Daryl nodded violently, finishing off his burger.

"Only every day of my life." He said, wiping his mouth off on his sleeve.

"Bow? Gun?" I asked, catching the sideways look Daryl gave me. "My grandpa was an avid hunter in his younger years. He tried to pass it on to my dad, but…"

"What'd he use?" Daryl asked, turning towards me.

"Crossbow." I made patterns on the bar with my fingertip. "I don't know anything about it."

"That's my weapon of choice."

"Well, if the world _does_ go to shit, you can have it." I told him, glancing up from the bar. "My grandpa can't use it anymore and I'd probably end up shooting myself."

Daryl chuckled.

"You wouldn't be able to pull the bowstave back. Hell, you probably wouldn't even be able to hold the damn thing up long enough to."

"All the more reason you should take it." I replied with a sheepish smile.

"Well…thanks." Daryl nodded, mimicking the way I was tracing designs on the countertop.

"So, can I ask you a question?" I asked, looking down at my lap.

"Shoot, girl."

"Why did you kiss me last night?" I asked, slowly glancing up to meet Daryl's blue eyes.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time." Daryl replied, looking away with a shrug.

"And now?"

Daryl looked back up at me.

"I came into the diner to see you, didn't I?" He smirked.

"You came in for the burger." I lifted my finger and pointed at him.

Daryl shrugged, looking back down at his empty plate.

Suddenly, my cell phone vibrated in the pocket of my apron. I pulled it out. The hospital's number was displayed on the screen.

"Hang on a second." I mumbled, opening my phone. "Hello?"

_"Roslyn, it's Dr. Dobson. Dr. Jacobs informed me that you walked out last night."_

"I did." I replied, looking over at Daryl, who was watching me carefully.

_"…I was wondering if you would consider coming into the ER."_

"Dr. Dobson-"

_"Roslyn, please. Ever since the mayor made his statement this morning, our beds have been filling up with potential carriers of the disease. We're understaffed. I would really appreciate it if you took the time to come in and help out…even if it's for five minutes."_

I sighed.

"Okay. I'll be over within the hour."

_"Thank you, Roslyn. Thank you."_

I flipped my phone shut.

"Who was that?" Daryl asked, pointing to my phone as I put it away.

"That was the hospital begging me to come in and volunteer for a few hours." I replied, getting up off of the stool.

"Why didn't you tell 'em to go fuck themselves?"

"You know why." I told him, heading to the coatrack at the back of the diner. I grabbed my raincoat, slipping it on as I grabbed the keys off of the counter. "Come on."

I quickly locked up as Daryl followed me out. I started walking in the direction of the hospital.

"Hey!" Daryl called from behind me. I turned around. "Want a ride?"

I walked towards him.

"Remember when you said you owed me, and I told you I didn't want anything?" I asked, looking up at Daryl.

"Yeah."

"I'm changing my mind. I want you to do something for me."

"What?" Daryl asked warily, raising an eyebrow.

"Do you remember how to get to my grandparents' house?"

Daryl nodded.

"My grandpa's crossbow is in a box in the front closet. Take it. It sounds like things are starting to change around here." I looked around for a moment as though I would see something crazy happening. "Do you know where Peach Tree Nursing Home is?"

"I think so."

"After you get the crossbow, will you check on my grandpa? Just make sure he's okay?"

"What's his name?" Daryl asked.

"Rhett Gardener."

"I can do that." Daryl nodded.

"Thank you." I breathed. "Be careful out there."

"I'll be all right." Daryl said, looking away.

I wanted to give him a kiss. He had given me a damn good one the night before, and I wasn't sure when the next time I would see him would be. I wanted to kiss him, but I didn't. I left without another word, but when I glanced back at the diner one last time, Daryl was still standing in the parking lot. He was watching me as I walked.

0o0o0

When I arrived at the hospital, it was immediate pandemonium. Doctors and nurses were zigzagging from bed to bed in the emergency room. Patients were complaining, crying, screaming, and wandering around amidst the chaos. I was overwhelmed just watching the scene before me unfold, but when Dr. Dobson grabbed my wrist and guided me into the middle of it, I nearly tore myself away from him to run. The only sight that kept me from doing just that was that of an elderly couple in the corner of the ER. The elderly woman was clutching her bleeding arm while her husband was trying to get someone to look at her. It took me one second to gravitate to them.

"What happened?" I asked loudly over the sounds around me.

"An insane person bit me!" The old woman cried in agony, her hand covered in blood.

"Okay." I ripped a pair of gloves out of the box on the table. "Let me take a look at that."

When my gloves were secure, I peeled back the old woman's hand. There was a nasty bite on her arm. The flesh was torn where she had pulled away from whoever had bitten her.

"We were leaving the grocery store and this crazed man just staggered right up to us." The old man explained, clutching his wife's shoulders. "I thought he was hurt, but then he just bit right into my wife's arm. I pulled her away from him, but…"

"I'm going to have a nurse come over and take a sample from that bite." I said, pulling off my soiled gloves. "Just sit tight. We're going to help you."

"Thank you." The old man replied, comforting his wife when she leaned against him.

It went that way for most of the afternoon. I inspected bites and scratches, had nurses take samples, and tried my best to comfort the patients.

It wasn't until around sunset that the mood in the room shifted. It started with the elderly woman, Mrs. Thomas, that I had helped upon arriving at the hospital. Jackie had hooked her up to our machines to record her vital signs while the sample from her bite was looked over in the lab. As the sun began to set, Mrs. Thomas broke out in a sweat. I took her temperature, and was shocked to discover that it was 103.5 and rising.

"Jackie, we need to get Mrs. Thomas into an ice bath." I said, catching the nurse's arm.

"We need to get all of these people into ice baths." Jackie replied, ripping her arm away from me. "All of them have fevers. Mr. Edison has a fever of 106.4."

I tried to comfort Mrs. Thomas with cold compresses, but her fever continued to spike. As it grew darker outside, Mrs. Thomas began to slip away. I thought she had slipped into unconsciousness or fallen asleep until the alarm went off. Mrs. Thomas had no vital signs.

"Dr. Dobson!" I shouted, waving him over. "Dr. Dobson!"

"Agatha?" Mr. Thomas whimpered, hovering over his lifeless wife.

"You need to stand back." A nurse instructed Mr. Thomas, gently pushing him out of the way as she wheeled over a crash cart.

"Charge those paddles." Dr. Dobson instructed, ripping open Mrs. Thomas' gown.

I stood with Mr. Thomas, my arm around him as we watched Dr. Dobson and the nurse try to resuscitate his wife. After several minutes, Dr. Dobson put the paddles back on the crash cart.

"Roslyn, I need you to record the time of death and take down information." Dr. Dobson told me, watching the nurse wheel the crash cart away. He turned to Mr. Thomas as my arm fell away from him. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Thomas…"

While Dr. Dobson spoke with the sobbing husband, I stood beside Mrs. Thomas' bedside. I looked down at her for a few moments, wondering what had happened. I finally scribbled down the time of death and continued filling in information as needed.

Suddenly, I heard a moan. I looked up from my clipboard. Mrs. Thomas' eyes were open. That was the only thing I saw as I dropped the clipboard.

"Dr. Dobson!" I cried, turning towards where he stood with Mr. Thomas.

Dr. Dobson turned, looking from me to Mrs. Thomas. His eyes widened as he rushed over to the bed, looking down at Mrs. Thomas as she began to stir.

"I don't understand." Dr. Dobson muttered, looking up at the machines. "There are no vitals…"

Before I could comprehend what had happened, Mrs. Thomas was sinking her teeth into Dr. Dobson's wrist. He yelled out as she bit into his exposed flesh, bringing him to his knees. I wrapped my arm around Dr. Dobson, trying to pull him to his feet and away from Mrs. Thomas. Her husband was on the other side of the bed, his hands on her shoulders. As I got Dr. Dobson away from Mrs. Thomas, she turned and bit down on her husband's fingers.

"Nurse!" I screeched, horrified as I watched Mrs. Thomas biting down on her husband's fingers as he wailed in pain. "Nurse!"

I was aware of hands brushing me off of Dr. Dobson, and I staggered into the wall. I watched as the fingers Mrs. Thomas had been biting snapped off of her husband's hand. The sound sent a surge through my stomach, and I was sure I was going to be sick. I bent at the waist, waiting for the vomit to work its way up my throat. I couldn't tear my eyes away as Mrs. Thomas began chewing on the fingers in her mouth before she swallowed them. She lunged at her husband, her mouth disappearing into his neck as she took him down to the floor.

I pressed my back to the wall, sinking down it. I couldn't hear anything. All of the sounds were muted as my eyes scanned the emergency room. The nurse that had rushed over was standing over Dr. Dobson, wrapping up his wound. Nurses, doctors, and patients were running around the emergency door and out the doors, their mouths open in screams I couldn't hear. Time seemed to be slowing down, their steps becoming less quick though I knew they were all running.

I couldn't move. I remained against the wall, watching as the world around me became slow, silent chaos. As I lifted my eyes towards the double doors, where patients in gowns were pushing each other to get out, I saw an arm emerging from the other side. Someone was trying to get in. A moment later, the arm violently shoved a patient out of the way, and the arm became a body. When our eyes met, he called out to me. I saw my name on his lips, but I couldn't hear his voice.

Daryl ran towards me in slow motion, wielding my grandpa's crossbow in his visibly strong arms. On his way to me, he whirled around, firing an arrow at a patient behind him. As he turned back around towards me, time began to slowly speed up. I could hear the noise coming back. Something had changed in me. When Daryl called to me, and I heard his voice, and his hand pulled me to my feet, I knew that I was going to get out.

"Come on!" Daryl shouted, pulling me towards the double doors.

We ran together for the doors. When a patient came towards us, a bite mark visible on his neck, Daryl didn't miss a step as he used my grandpa's crossbow as a bludgeoning tool. We burst through the doors and into the night. I could hear screaming nearby, and in the distance, I recognized the sound of gunfire.

"Come on, Roslyn. We can't stay here." Daryl muttered, letting go of my arm.

I followed Daryl to his truck, which was parked crookedly on the lawn. I locked my door when I got in, and turned to Daryl as he reloaded the crossbow. When he was finished, he started up the truck.

"Where do you want me to take you?" Daryl asked, turning his head to look at me.

"I…I have to go to Peach Tree." I replied automatically.

"Okay." Daryl nodded, wasting no time in driving forward. "Listen up. I gotta tell you some stuff."

I nodded as Daryl glanced over at me to make sure I was listening.

"This ain't no government conspiracy. This is legit." Daryl said, concentrating on the road as he spoke. "The disease is here. It ain't like anything I've ever seen before."

"It kills you." I murmured, staring at Daryl as I saw movement along the road out of the corner of my eye. "It kills you…and then it brings you back."

"Yeah, but you ain't yourself when you come back." Daryl looked over at me. "I seen a whole bunch of infected people eating non infected people."

"I did too." I said quietly.

"If you get bit or if you get scratched by one of them, you're done." Daryl looked back at the road. "Everyone's in a panic. They're all headin' for shelters and the CDC."

"Where are you going?"

"I told you before." Daryl looked back at me. "Merle and I are goin' into the woods."

"Okay." I nodded.

"I know you want to go to your grandpa," Daryl pointed at me, "he's fine by the way."

"Thank you."

"But you can't stay there. People are gonna be doin' some crazy shit. It wouldn't surprise me if some people broke in for the meds or whatever."

Daryl pulled up to the nursing home. He jumped out of the truck, opening my car door for me before I could do it myself. I got out, the sounds of gunfire louder than before.

"You need to head for a shelter. If they're all full up, you gotta go to the CDC." Daryl told me, my grandpa's crossbow over his shoulder.

"I'm not leaving my grandpa." I replied defiantly.

"If you stay here, you're gonna get killed." Daryl snapped.

It began to rain suddenly. It wasn't a drizzle. It was really coming down. Though I was getting soaked, I remained where I stood. So did Daryl.

"Look," Daryl reached around himself, "you gotta stay protected."

Daryl held out a hunting knife to me.

"You need to get your hands on a gun, even if it means stealin'."

"Thank you." I said, taking the knife from his hand.

I looked up at Daryl. The rain was cascading down his face. His hair was a messy mop, dripping wet. The way he looked right then, my grandpa's crossbow over one shoulder and the serious look on his face, I knew that Daryl would survive the disease. He was going to make it however long the world was in peril. He was strong, and he had a strong brother with him.

"I gotta go. Merle's waitin'." Daryl said suddenly.

"Thank you…thank you for everything." I replied sincerely, covering his hand with mine.

"I don't owe you no more favors." Daryl smirked.

"That's right." I agreed.

Daryl started over to the truck. As I watched him go, I wondered about my own fate. I didn't know how to hunt or shoot a gun. I had never been in a position where I had to survive with only the clothes on my back and a knife. My chances weren't as good as Daryl's.

"Wait." I said, walking after him. He turned. "Just in case I don't see you again."

I leaned up on my tiptoes, my free hand resting on Daryl's stubbled cheek. I pressed my lips to his, rain from his hair and face dripping down towards our mouths. As I felt Daryl's hand on the back of my head, his fingers tangled in my soaking wet hair, our lips parted simultaneously. I was surprised by the force behind his tongue as it pushed into my mouth, but I recovered quickly to mimic his intensity. His hand tightened in my hair, pulling me closer into him. I couldn't feel the rain coming down on me anymore. All I could feel was Daryl's hand in my hair and his mouth against mine. Though the world was coming down around us, I could have stayed right there forever, as long as Daryl's kiss continued to make me feel as though I were on fire.

"I gotta go." Daryl gasped, his lips still against mine. He pulled back to look into my eyes, his hand slowly untangling from my wet hair. He leaned down once more, giving me one last kiss before getting into his truck.

I watched Daryl peel out of the parking lot. When his truck was out of sight, I turned and hurried into the nursing home. There was no one at the nurses' desk. I went behind it, dripping water all over the desk as I reached for a note taped to the computer screen.

_To Whom It May Concern:_

_ Loretta, Anna, and Maddox have taken all senior citizens capable of travel to the nearest shelter. If you are looking for a loved one, and they are not here, chances are that they were taken to the shelter. Unfortunately, not all senior citizens were capable of travel and there was not enough room on the shuttle to transport all of those capable of travel. Those who were left behind have been moved to the basement to insure their survival._

_ May God be with you._

I rushed for the basement doors, stumbling down the steps. When I went into the storage room, I was shocked and overwhelmed by the sight of rows of beds filled with the elderly people who didn't make the trip to the shelter. There were a dozen of them, and I immediately saw my grandpa in his bed.

"Grandpa!" I cried, running to his side.

"Rosy, I didn't ask for a room change." My grandpa huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I know, Grandpa. I know." I assured him, patting his shoulder.

"It's too crowded in this room." He complained.

"Young lady, when is dinner being served?" An old man I didn't recognize asked.

"Dinner was served already, Cletus." Ms. Danvers replied from beside him.

"I think I would remember." Cletus argued.

"I'll be right back, everybody." I announced to no one in particular.

I went into the locker room next door to the storage room. The equipment that had been in the storage room had been deposited in the locker room. I maneuvered my way through the stuff, opening up my locker at the end of the row. Luckily, I always kept a set of spare scrubs at the nursing home. I pulled off the soaking wet ones I was wearing, leaving them on the floor as I changed into the dry ones. I quickly braided back my wet hair to get it out of my way before heading upstairs.

"Roslyn?"

I looked up and saw Victoria, drenched, standing by the desk.

"Victoria, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"I came to check on my grandma." She replied, setting her purse on the desk. "What's going on? Where is everybody?"

"The ones they couldn't take to the shelter are in the basement."

"Is my grandma down there?"

"I don't know. I didn't stay long enough to take inventory of who's here." I motioned to the basement door. "Why don't you go check? They're in the storage room."

"Okay." Victoria walked past me.

"Come back up when you've checked. I'm going to need your help."

While Victoria was in the basement, I locked the front door to the nursing home. By the time I had done that, Victoria returned.

"She's there."

"Good." I nodded. "What are you going to do? Are you going to a shelter?"

"I just got off the phone with my parents. They're on vacation in Florida right now." Victoria returned to her purse. "They told me to go to a shelter, but I don't want to leave my grandma here. I'm going to stay."

"Me too."

"What do we do?"

"I want you to take the keys and make sure all of the doors are locked. If anybody wants in here, they're probably going to be able to get in anyways, but it's a start." I tossed the keys to Victoria. "When you're finished, meet me in the pharmacy. We're going to take everything down to the basement."

"Good idea." Victoria nodded.

I went to the pharmacy and put all of the medication into an empty box. Victoria helped me fill it when she had locked all the doors. After we got the box downstairs, we returned up to the first floor to collect all of the canned food and beverages we could from the kitchen. While Victoria watched the residents, I started taking the equipment and stuff that had been in storage out of the locker room. We were going to use the heavy appliances and boxes to barricade the door to the basement.

0o0o0

Two weeks passed. In those two weeks, Victoria and I formed a routine. We both cared for the residents together. We took them into the locker room to shower them, cooked their meals, passed out medication, and tried to keep them calm and unaware of what was going on outside the nursing home walls. Most of the residents who had been left behind suffered from varying degrees of dementia, so it was easy to keep them in the dark. There were a few, like Ms. Danvers, who required a lot more convincing. The last thing that we needed was a panic. We already had a crisis on our hands.

"Go fish, Rosy." My grandpa said triumphantly, holding onto his last card as though it were a trophy of sorts.

"I'm beginning to think you're cheating." I teased, drawing a card from the stack.

"Roslyn?"

I turned to see Victoria standing at the foot of my grandpa's bed.

"What's up, Victoria?" I asked.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Her eyes darted to the door and back.

"Sure." I set down my plethora of cards. "Shuffle the deck, Grandpa. I'll be back in a minute."

I followed Victoria into the locker room. She shut the door, leaning against it.

"We have a problem." She murmured, staring at the floor.

"What?" I asked warily, wondering what could possibly be worse than having to care for a dozen senior citizens in a basement with limited supplies during an epidemic.

"We're running out of medicine." Victoria's eyes flickered up to meet mine. "By the end of the week, we won't have enough for everyone."

"Damnit." I muttered, kicking the lockers. I put a hand to my forehead. "Are you sure?"

"I've been keeping track since we've been down here. I'm positive." Victoria replied.

I sighed, letting my hand fall away from my face.

"I'll have to disassemble the barricade and leave." I folded my arms over my chest. "I can go to the hospital and to Urgent Care to see if the medicine we need is there."

"Roslyn," Victoria took a few steps towards me, "you and I both know that's not an option."

"Why not?" I asked. "You'll lend me your pistol, won't you?"

"Of course I would." Victoria closed the distance between us. "Even if you took it, there's only twelve bullets."

"Maybe that's enough." I argued. "We don't know what's happened in the two weeks we've been down here. Maybe the military has a handle on the problem-"

"If that was the case, someone would have come for us by now." Victoria reached her hand out, laying it on my folded arms. "I know you're trying to be optimistic, Roslyn. I know that you want to take care of your grandpa. I want to take care of my grandma, but…"

"But what?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The fact of the matter is, we're _going_ to run out of medicine." Victoria took her hand off me.

"Daryl told me that people would be stealing and cleaning out places for supplies." I mumbled.

"He's probably right. I bet the hospital and Urgent Care are empty." Victoria nodded.

"So…what do we do?" I asked, dropping my arms.

"I don't know." Victoria admitted with a sigh. "I guess we'll just have to make everyone as comfortable as possible, and hope that…"

"It's time to shower the men." I said, filling the silence. "I'll do it. You stay with them."

"Okay."

I started the shower, warming the water as I waited for Victoria to bring me the first resident. By the time I had retrieved toiletries from the supply closet, my grandpa was waiting for me. I helped him out of his gown before he sat down on the shower chair. Luckily for Victoria and I, there was one that had been in the storage room. It was dirty and dusty, but I'd cleaned it up so that the residents could shower safely.

"Rosy, I can't find that brother of yours anywhere." My grandpa said as I shampooed his hair.

"I'm sure he's around here somewhere." I replied, playing into his diseased mind. "He probably went to the store. We're running low on a few things."

"You're probably right." My grandpa agreed.

As I scrubbed my grandpa from head to toe, I thought about the predicament we were in. In order to preserve our hiding place, Victoria and I had agreed from day one not to leave the basement. We made do with what we had. We had both been wearing the same clothes for the past two weeks, using the sink in the locker room to wash them when we had the chance.

I hadn't wanted to think about it before, but I knew it was only a matter of time before we ran low on something. It just happened to be the medicine before the food. Maybe, in the back of my head, I wanted to believe that the disease would be under control before we ran out of anything. I had been worrying over taking care of the residents, especially my grandpa, that I hadn't had the time to sit down and process what had happened out there in the world.

As I considered what was happening out there, I used Daryl's reactions as my guide. Before the disease came to Georgia, he had been flippant and nonchalant about it. His lack of concern only fed into my own lack of concern. When Daryl showed up at the hospital, he was different. He had gone into survival mode. He was going with his brother into the woods, and he was taking my grandpa's crossbow with him. I thought about everything he had told me, and I knew that Daryl wasn't the kind of person to overreact or become dramatic about something miniscule. The disease was a lot worse than both he and I initially thought.

"Thank you, Winnie." My grandpa said as I toweled him off, patting my hand.

"You're welcome, Rhett." I replied unflinchingly.

I helped my grandpa back into his gown, returning him to his bed. I showered the rest of the men. By the time I finished, Victoria had made and served dinner. While the residents ate their meal, I pulled Victoria back into the locker room.

"What do we have still…medication wise?" I asked.

"Why? What do you need?" Victoria asked, confused.

"Do we have any barbiturates? Muscle relaxers?"

"Yes. We have phenobarbital and…" Victoria looked at me strangely. "Why are you asking?"

"You know why I'm asking." I replied seriously, staring straight into her eyes.

Victoria's face slowly changed. At first, she still looked confused. Her confusion slowly became realization. That didn't last long before her eyes began to well up with tears. I was about to say something to her, but she blinked, and the tears were gone. She swallowed, and then nodded.

"When?" She asked, her voice quavering slightly.

"That depends. Do you want to try and ride this week out, see how many of them suffer the effects of little to no medication?" I asked, folding my arms. "Or do you want to do it as soon as possible?"

"I…" Victoria looked away from my eyes. "I guess it makes more sense to do it sooner-"

"Tonight." I interrupted.

"Roslyn," Victoria looked back at me, "I didn't mean to…before, when I said you were optimistic…"

"Being optimistic isn't going to fill that box of medication." I unfolded my arms. "You and I aren't nurses. We aren't doctors. It's one thing to mimic what we've seen being done. What's going to happen when one of them breaks a hip? Has a pulmonary embolism?"

"You're right." Victoria murmured, nodding.

"After dinner, we'll do it." I said quietly. "Go and prepare the syringes. I'll keep them company."

I left Victoria behind to go and keep the residents company. I mostly hovered around my grandpa. By the time they had all finished eating, Victoria emerged. She made eye contact with me, and patted her purse to indicate that it was full of the medicine.

"Okay, everyone." I said, going to stand in the center of the beds. "Listen up for a minute."

"Shh." Ms. Danvers shooshed the residents around her.

"Tonight, there's going to be a pretty big storm. Victoria and I know that most of you have trouble sleeping with the lightning flashes and the thunder claps, so we're going to give everyone something to help them sleep."

"A storm, dear?" Ms. Danvers asked.

"A big one." Victoria replied, standing at my side.

"I'll take the left. You take the right." I instructed quietly. "Phenobarbital first."

"Leave…leave my grandma." Victoria whispered. "I want to do it myself."

"Me too." I agreed with a nod.

I took the syringes that Victoria produced from her purse, and went to the left side of the room. Mr. Phillips was the first bed.

"How was your dinner, Mr. Phillips?" I asked him, making sure that I had a smile on my face.

"I wish I'd had a steak." Mr. Phillips grumbled.

"I really wish I could have gotten one for you." I replied sincerely, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"That's all right, Roslyn." Mr. Phillips mumbled softly, looking up at me.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"What?"

"What is the best memory you have?" I asked, using my free hand to locate the IV tube.

"The best memory I have?" Mr. Phillips asked, looking away from me in thought. "Hmm…I guess I'd say that my best memories are the times I went fishing with my dad as a youngster. He had a little boat, and we'd spend entire days out on the water with our lines cast."

"What's the biggest fish you caught?" I asked, inserting the syringe into the tube.

"Large mouth bass. 7 pounder." Mr. Phillips replied, looking up at me.

"Wow. You must have been really great at fishing." I said, pumping the medicine into the tube.

"My dad was always better." Mr. Phillips mumbled, the medicine already taking effect. "He was…my…best…friend…"

Mr. Phillips' eyes closed. I could hear him snoring as he fell into a deep sleep.

That was how I coped with it as I went from bed to bed. I asked each resident I administered the medicine to what their best memory was. I let that be the last thing in their mind as they went to sleep. Ms. Danvers' best memory was her cat. Mr. Reid and Mr. Hopkins both mentioned hunting. Ms. Freemont said that her best memory was her childhood friend, Ruthanne.

Then, there was my grandpa.

"Hi, Grandpa." I greeted him. "How are you feeling?"

"Winnie, I thought I told you I don't like it when you call me that." My grandpa huffed.

I wanted to correct him. I wanted his last moments to be with me, his granddaughter, and not my grandma. I knew I was being selfish. If my grandpa wanted me to be my grandma, then that was who I was going to be.

"I'm sorry, Rhett." I murmured. "You know I like to tease you."

My grandpa chuckled.

"You picked it up from those darn grandkids."

"You know how silly they are." I agreed, wrapping my arm around his shoulders. "Can I ask you something, Rhett?"

"What is it, dear?" My grandpa asked, covering my hand with his.

"What's your best memory?"

"My best memory?" My grandpa asked, tapping his chin. "You mean other than you, Winnie?"

"Sure."

"You know I love those grandkids to pieces." My grandpa said, looking up at me. "Dennis is a smart kid. He's going to make something of himself one day. I just hope he remembers his roots…not like his father-"

"Rhett." I scolded him gently.

"I know." My grandpa waved his hand at me. "And Rosy. Little Rosy."

"What about her?"

"She's keeping me young, Winnie. She's keeping me young." My grandpa patted my hand before removing it completely. "What was that song I used to sing to her?"

I bit my lip, hoping that it would keep the tears from overflowing. I took the last syringe I had, inserting the needle into the tube. My grandpa looked up at me, waiting for my answer. As I administered the medicine, I began to sing.

"Ring around a rosy, a pocketful of posies, ashes, ashes," I watched as my grandpa's eyes fluttered closed, a smile on his face, "we all fall down."

I watched my grandpa sleeping, keeping my tears at bay with all of my strength. I turned to see that Victoria was standing at her grandma's bedside, silent tears streaming down her face as her grandma went to sleep. Victoria looked up at me, a sob escaping.

"Do you want to do this?" I asked, meeting her at the center of the room.

"We…we have to." Victoria replied, tears continuing to fall from her eyes.

"It's either this or watch them slowly deteriorate."

"We have to do this." Victoria said, her voice stronger as she wiped away her tears.

"Okay. I'll take the left." I said, holding out my hand for the second set of syringes.

When I had them, I returned to the beds I had visited before. I administered the muscle relaxers, leaving my grandpa for last. When I got to his bedside, I leaned down. I wrapped my arms around him as he slept, positioning my head next to his.

"I'm sorry that my dad resented this place." I whispered into his ear. "I'm sorry that you two were never able to patch things up before he died. I'm sorry that Dennis took after him. I'm sorry that he never came to visit you, even when Grandma died."

Tears began to slip from my eyes. I was cracking.

"Thank you for all of the wonderful summers I spent with you and Grandma and Mom and Dennis. Thank you for taking me in after Mom and Dad died. I hope that I was able to take care of you as good as you took care of me. I love you, Grandpa. I love you so much."

I began to cry aloud as I pulled away to administer the muscle relaxer. When the syringe was empty, I let it fall to the floor as I hugged my grandpa one last time.

"Winnie is waiting for you." I whispered through my tears.

When it was finished, Victoria and I stood in the middle of the room. We hugged each other as we cried. For a moment, I wasn't sure we were going to be able to leave them. I thought that maybe, we might decide to take the same way out. Even though we cried for what seemed like hours, we were able to let go of each other to make sure that the medication had done its job. We covered everyone in their sheets.

"What do we do now?" Victoria asked, sitting on the floor outside of the storage room.

"We get out." I replied simply, banging the back of my head against the wall several times in order to feel something. "We have to get out."

While Victoria packed up the leftover food and toiletries, I started tearing down the barricade. Halfway through, Victoria helped me finish. We carried the supplies out of the basement.

"We'll go to my house." Victoria said as we headed for the front door. "We can get caught up on what's happened, get more supplies, and figure out what to do from there."

"Okay." I nodded in agreement. "Do you have your pistol?"

Victoria produced it from her purse.

"Have it ready." I told her, pulling out the hunting knife Daryl had given me.

I unlocked the front door, shuffling the supplies around in order to do so. I couldn't explain why I wasn't afraid as I walked out into the world I had been closed off from for two weeks. I chalked it up to being numb after having just euthanized twelve people, one of whom was my grandpa.

We walked together down the street, taking notice of the unusual feeling in the air. There were cars parked on lawns, in the middle of the street, and on the sidewalk. Skid marks zigzagged across the asphalt, spelling out the story of what had happened. Front doors to homes were left ajar. Windows were broken. Articles of clothing were strewn across the ground as though suitcases had exploded.

As we reached Victoria's house, I noticed that the front door was hanging open.

"Someone must have broken in." Victoria muttered, walking into the house.

I followed Victoria inside, surveying the visibly ransacked home. Cabinets were left open, furniture had been knocked over, things had been taken.

"I'll go and find us clothes." Victoria announced, heading for the back of the house. "Turn on the TV. See what's going on."

I obeyed Victoria's request, depositing the supplies onto the couch as I sat down. I flipped on the TV with the remote, waiting for something to happen. It was fuzz. It was static. I flipped through channels, but it was the same on each one.

"Nothing's on." I announced when I heard Victoria return. I heard moaning, and turned quickly. Standing behind me was a monster. It had the form of a human, but it was too grotesque to be. Its flesh was falling off of its bones, leaving little to the imagination as to what was underneath the skin. Its arm hung out of its socket like it was dislocated. Its clothes were just as tattered as its skin. The mouth was open, revealing a set of rotting teeth. I could smell the stench from where I sat.

"Victoria!" I cried, whipping my knife out. "Victoria!"

My cries seemed to rile the disfigured human. It staggered towards me, growling and snarling like an animal. With a surge of adrenaline, I bounded forward, sinking the knife into the chest of the diseased person. It didn't seem fazed as it reached for me.

"Victoria!" I shouted, falling backwards to avoid being grabbed.

My knife was still stuck in the monster as it came towards me, decaying fingers grabbing. I crawled backwards, glancing around for a weapon. I saw the coffee table in pieces on the floor. I reached out, keeping my eyes on the diseased person as I grabbed one of the busted legs. I swung it at the monster, hoping to frighten it.

"Victoria!"

I suddenly remembered the day at the hospital. When Daryl had used my grandpa's crossbow to bludgeon the bitten patient, he had gone down without a fight. I got to my feet, aiming for the disfigured human's head. The table leg collided with its skull. I was surprised and appalled by how easily the wooden table leg smashed the skull. It was unnatural, as though the bones were weaker. The person stopped making noise as it fell to the ground with a thud.

I was breathing heavily and loudly as I watched the biter, waiting for it to get back up. When it didn't, I crawled cautiously towards it. I abandoned the table leg as I reached for the knife, pulling it out with ease. I wiped the bloody blade against the couch cushion.

"Victoria!" I called out, stumbling to my feet.

I went to the back of the house, looking in each room I passed. I heard a gurgling sound, and rushed towards it. Victoria was on the ground in a pool of blood. Her throat had been ripped open. I would have been sick had I not been so focused on Victoria. Her eyes were open as she gurgled, blood coming out of her mouth.

"Victoria." I dropped to my knees next to her. "Oh my god. Victoria."

My hands hovered over her. I knew I couldn't save her. I didn't know what to do.

Victoria gurgled, her eyes flickering wildly at something. I followed her gaze. Her fallen purse was beside her body, the pistol hanging out of it. I understood what she wanted.

"Victoria." I breathed, remembering what she and I had just done not more than an hour before.

Her gurgling came quicker and more urgent, as though she were begging.

"Okay." I nodded, reaching for the pistol. I aimed it at her head, the gun shaking in my hands. I wasn't even sure if I was holding it correctly. "I'm so sorry, Victoria."

She closed her eyes. I held the barrel of the gun against her head, looking away as I pulled the trigger. I felt the warm spray of blood across my face, and opened my eyes to see that Victoria no longer had a head. I turned away from her body as I vomited onto the carpet, the gun falling limply from my hands.

0o0o0

I spent a longer time than I should have sitting by Victoria's body. When I was finally able to pull myself out of it, I numbly stumbled to the bathroom. I peeled off my soiled scrubs and showered. I scrubbed the blood and brain matter out of my hair, watching it rinse down the drain. When I finished in the shower, I dried off and went back into Victoria's room. Before I did anything, I covered her body in the blankets from her bed.

I was too shaken up to stop and consider if it was wrong to take anything from Victoria's house. I found a duffel bag in her closet, and began filling it with clothes. I packed clothing appropriate for both cold and warm weather, not knowing what I would need or when. Only when I finished did I realize that I was still naked. I got dressed in the first set of clothes my hands touched.

I went into the kitchen, rummaging through the pantry for canned goods. Anything that was nonperishable, I added to the supplies Victoria and I brought. When I filled the box, I took it out to the driveway. I wasn't sure what I was doing until I reached into my pocket and produced car keys. I hadn't even remembered picking them up as I unlocked the minivan in the driveway. I put the box and duffel bag into the trunk. When I shut it, I got into the driver's seat.

I started up the van. My body seemed to know where I was going before my mind did as I backed out of the driveway. I was well aware that the horrifying events that had just taken place weren't registering properly with me. I usually responded well in a crisis, or at least tried to. Something had shut down inside of me after what had happened at Peach Tree. I didn't know if it would ever come back on.

As I drove down the street, more of those biters came towards the van. Surprisingly, they staggered on past. I turned to see where they were going. They were headed for Victoria's house. As I turned back around to watch where I was going, I wondered what had drawn them there. Was their sense of smell that good? I couldn't imagine how. Their bones were as brittle as a 90 year old's and their flesh was falling off. I wondered if it had been my cries before, or if it had been the gunshot. I made a mental note to keep both to a minimum.

It was then that I noticed I only had one hand on the wheel. I looked down at my other hand. It was clutching Victoria's pistol. I hadn't remembered grabbing it, and couldn't remember how long I had been holding it. I kept my grip on it as I drove past the biters.


	3. Welcome To Zone 5

_When You Say Nothing At All_

**Welcome To Zone 5**

**Eminemchick17: **It's such a pleasure to know that you love this story so much. I'm really glad that you think I captured Daryl correctly. I would hate to write him OOC. I know there are moments here and there where I might not get it right, but as a whole, I really am trying! I would have loved for Roslyn to go with Merle and Daryl, but you're right, it is kind of unrealistic. I hope this chapter came soon enough!

**Lorem tenebrae: **It was hard for me to write that part. Honestly, I was a little scared that people might freak out and be angry about the euthanasia. Then again, when aren't there moments in _The Walking Dead _where something horrible, controversial, and/or graphic happens? I guess you'll see if they meet up in this chapter, or if they'll meet up later…

**zansbitch1: **I know! I hate having them apart!

**miranda harris 75: **That's a very flattering compliment. Thank you very much. Here's your update!

**FanFicGirl10: **If I didn't think I was going to see Daryl again, I would have kissed him too! I might have even tried for a quickie…but that's beside the point! It was definitely sad what happened at the nursing home and with Victoria. Poor Roslyn. I'm so mean to her, but I make up for it by giving her Daryl. Here's your update, darling!

**1111: **Heeeeeeeeere you gooooooooo!

**Jennie: **I'm glad that you love the story. You know what they say: what doesn't kill us makes us stronger.

**Leyshla Gisel: **It was definitely a sad chapter. I thought about keeping Victoria around for a while, and possibly having her join the group too. I really wanted Roslyn's first encounter with a walker, or biter as she says, to be dramatic and terrifying. I thought that having the walker get Victoria would do the trick!

**VeritasKym: **I would hate to say goodbye to Daryl. I would have thrown myself at him. Embarrassing! Roslyn had a tough chapter. I'll owe it to her. Here's your update!

**BlackRose851: **Thank you very much!

0o0o0

I stopped by the first two shelters I came across. They were both abandoned. I gathered what little supplies had been left behind. I put everything into the trunk of the minivan. After I left the second shelter, I sat in the driver's seat for a while. I stared out the windshield.

"Where am I going?" I asked myself aloud.

_You're doing exactly what Daryl told you to. You're checking shelters._

"Where has that gotten me?"

_It was worth a shot. You and Victoria kept all of those residents alive in a basement for two weeks. Who knows how everyone else is doing? For all you know, most of the town could be holed up in a building somewhere. Surviving._

"I've driven through this entire town and haven't run into anyone."

_Did you forget about what else Daryl told you?_

"I have a lot on my mind right now."

_No you don't. You're in shock. You didn't even notice that you grabbed the keys to this van, or that you took Victoria's gun. You need to get it together and focus._

"I'm trying."

_Try harder. You thought it yourself two weeks ago: you aren't a survivalist. Sure, you have a gun, but do you know how to use it? Shooting Victoria at point blank range was easy. How easy will it be for you to shoot at a moving target and hit it? It won't be. You have to get yourself together and start thinking clearly. Where did Daryl tell you to go if you couldn't get into a shelter?_

I banged my head against the steering wheel, sounding off the horn.

_Good thinking, Roslyn. Didn't you already establish that noise attracts biters?_

"I'm frustrated!"

_Being frustrated isn't going to help you right now. You have to turn your emotions off. Emotions have only caused you trouble since getting out of the basement. Your fear at Victoria's house nearly cost you your life._

"I killed that biter."

_You got lucky. What if that table leg hadn't been there? You would have wound up like Victoria. Now, think hard. Where did Daryl tell you to go?_

I thought back to that night in the rain. My thoughts immediately went to that last kiss we shared.

_WHERE DID DARYL TELL YOU TO GO?_

"The CDC!" I shouted angrily, my knuckles turning white on the steering wheel.

_Good. Get going before your van is swarmed._

I started up the van and drove. As I drove out of town, I wondered if I would get to the CDC before running out of gas.

As the sun was setting, I finally ran out of gas as I drove past the sign declaring that the CDC was five miles away. I pulled the van over to the shoulder instinctively, shutting it off. I rolled up the windows, which I had unrolled in the scorching June heat, and made sure that all of the doors were locked. I was going to spend the night in the van, and then walk the rest of the way in the morning. I tried to listen to my subconscious as I pushed back the fear that consumed me just thinking of walking alone through the world the way it was.

I laid down on the floor of the van, trying to get comfortable. Though I should have been exhausted, I felt wide awake. My mind wouldn't stop racing with everything I should have been thinking about earlier that day, but couldn't.

I thought about the twelve senior citizens in the basement of Peach Tree Nursing Home. I was angry with Loretta, Anna, and Maddox for leaving them behind. Why couldn't they have taken the shuttle back for them? Why didn't they at least try to move the ones who were immobile or ill? I knew they'd at least tried to preserve their lives by putting them in the basement, but I didn't feel grateful. In the time they took to move those beds and those residents into the basement, they could have tried moving them to a shelter. Then, Victoria and I wouldn't have been forced to euthanize them in order to spare them the pain of going without medicine or treatment.

I thought about my brother, Dennis. He was at law school in Boston when the disease broke out. He was smart. He had always been smarter than me. I wondered if his intelligence was keeping him alive, or if that wasn't enough. I wasn't exactly stupid, but I knew that my chances of survival were slim. I had never been camping. I had never been taught how to use a weapon of any kind. I didn't know self defense. I didn't know how to start a fire. How was I going to survive out in the world, and on my own?

I thought about Daryl. I knew he was alive. I was willing to bet that he and his brother were camped out somewhere in the woods, sitting next to a roaring fire. I wondered where they were, if they had stayed in Georgia or if they had left the state.

Through the closed windows, I could hear sounds out on the road. I drew my arms around my body, trying to become as small as possible inside of the minivan. I tried to keep the fear pushed down as the sounds got louder. I didn't know if that meant there were more biters or if they were just getting closer. I shut my eyes, trying to think about something else.

"_Sing to me, Grandpa. Sing!" My eight year old self cried happily, twirling in circles on the front porch. "Please sing, Grandpa?"_

"_Oh, Rhett." My grandma whacked him with a dishtowel. "Stop teasing her and sing."_

_My grandpa chuckled as he smiled up at my grandma._

"_Ring around a rosy, a pocketful of posies, ashes, ashes-"_

"_We all fall down!" I finished, falling dramatically onto the porch._

I drifted off to sleep, replaying that memory over and over in my mind.

0o0o0

_"The doctor says it was peaceful. He doesn't think she suffered." I said into the phone, holding it in between my face and shoulder as I wrote out thank you cards for the flowers that had been sent to the house over the past few days._

_ "Good. I'm glad to hear it." Dennis replied._

_ "I've been doing most of the planning. Grandpa has been…well, not himself. Anyways, I scheduled the wake for Saturday and the service for Sunday. I would really appreciate it if you could fly in a little early though, just to help out."_

_ Dennis cleared his throat._

_ "Roslyn, I have a pretty full plate right now."_

_ "Okay." I adjusted the phone as I put a thank you note into an envelope. "Don't come in early. That's fine. I just would have appreciated the help."_

_ "That's not what I meant."_

_ "Well then what…" I stopped what I was doing. I picked up the phone. "You can't be serious, Dennis. Are you really saying that you aren't planning on coming in for Grandma's funeral?"_

_ Dennis sighed._

_ "It's a hectic time for me. I have several deadlines coming up and-"_

_ "I don't care if it's finals or if your arm is hanging out of its socket." I interrupted harshly. "Your grandma died. You need to come home."_

_ "Home." Dennis laughed dryly._

_ "Yeah, you know, home." I replied exasperatedly. "The place where we spent all of our childhood summers. The house you grew up in after Mom and Dad died."_

_ "Roslyn, you don't know what it's like to be in school."_

_ I scoffed._

_ "What's that supposed to mean, Dennis? I didn't go to college so I'm a piece of Southern trash?"_

_ "That isn't what I said." Dennis sighed. "Although, you really would have benefited from going to college, preferably out of state."_

_ "I'm so not having this conversation with you right now." I said, getting up from the stool I had been sitting on. "I'm going to ask you one last time: please come for Grandma's funeral? It would mean the world to Grandpa if you came. He hasn't seen you since you left for school."_

_ "I already told you that I can't."_

_ "Fine." I snapped. "You know, I've been calling you for the past two days to tell you that Grandma died. Thanks for finally returning my fucking phone call."_

_ I ended the call, slamming my phone down on the counter._

I opened my eyes. The light was weak coming into the minivan. I assumed it was pretty early, but sat up anyways. I peeked out the window closest to me, inspecting the road. There were no biters in sight, but that didn't mean there weren't any out there.

I unlocked the door and got out, Daryl's hunting knife at my waist and Victoria's gun in my hand. I surveyed the area around me as I opened the trunk. If I was going to walk the five miles to the CDC, I couldn't take everything with me. I had to leave some of the stuff behind.

I set down the gun and unzipped the duffel bag of clothes. I left half of the clothes in the trunk to make room for other things I had picked up. I selected several canned foods, a can opener, a flashlight, batteries for said flashlight, and a few bottles of over the counter medicine. If I took anymore, I would be weighed down even more then I was already going to be. I zipped up the duffel bag, slinging it over my shoulder as I picked up the gun from the trunk.

I decided to walk at the edge of the woods. I felt that it would be safer that way. It felt strange walking in the middle of the road. I stayed by the trees, ready to duck into the woods if I spotted any biters. I tried to pace my steps though I wanted to sprint. If I tired myself out, I wouldn't make it to the CDC before dark, but if I didn't walk fast enough I wouldn't make it there before nightfall either.

On my journey, I passed by all kinds of abandoned cars. Part of me wanted to go through them to make sure there wasn't anything useful I could take, but the other part of me knew I couldn't waste the time. It was more important to find shelter before dark.

It was midday when I finally spotted the CDC in the distance. I quickened my steps, practically jogging as I headed for the building. My shoulders were aching from switching the duffel bag from shoulder to shoulder along the way. As I approached, I slowed my steps when I saw the bodies on the ground. There were so many of them scattered across the road and lawn. They were decaying so badly that I couldn't tell which bodies were biters and which were uninfected.

Suddenly, one of the bodies got up. I shakily lifted the gun, aiming for the person. He was dressed in a white lab coat and khaki pants. He was facing away from me. I couldn't tell if he was a biter or not. I kept my gun aimed at him as I slowly started for him.

"Hey!" I called out nervously, waiting for a response.

The man in the lab coat pivoted. He was holding a baggie and a scalpel.

"W-Who are you?" The man asked, seeming to be just as nervous as me.

"My name is Roslyn Gardener." I said, lowering the gun with a sigh of relief. "Who are you?"

"My name is Dr. Alexander Norris." The man replied, coming towards me.

"Do you work here?" I asked, motioning to the building.

"Yes." Dr. Norris nodded, adjusting his glasses. "Have you been bitten? Scratched?"

"No." I showed him my arms and shook out my legs. "I've been barricaded in a basement for the past two weeks. I just got out yesterday."

Dr. Norris' eyes flickered from me to the ground.

"I was told to come here in the event that I couldn't find a shelter." I said.

"Who told you that?" Dr. Norris asked, meeting my eyes.

"A friend."

"Where is your friend?"

"I don't know." I replied quietly.

Dr. Norris nodded, moving his scalpel into the same hand as the full baggie.

"So…can I come in?" I asked, pointing to the CDC.

"You want to come in?" Dr. Norris asked, glancing back at the building.

"I have nowhere else to go. I'm alone." I took a step towards Dr. Norris. "I've been out of the loop since the disease spread to Georgia. Please let me come inside."

Dr. Norris glanced back at the building a few more times. He sighed.

"Miss Gardener-"

"Roslyn." I interrupted.

"Roslyn, if you come inside, you cannot leave."

I didn't see the problem. I had already told Dr. Norris that I was alone and without a place to go. It seemed like an ace in the hole that I would be permitted into the CDC. Why would I want to leave?

"That's fine." I replied, holding onto my duffel bag.

Dr. Norris sighed again.

"Come with me." He waved his free arm, walking towards the shutters. "She's coming in."

I looked around for whoever Dr. Norris was talking to, but didn't see anyone. I raised my eyes, and saw a camera above the shutters. It was adjusting itself.

Suddenly, one set of shutters opened. I followed Dr. Norris inside. He led me to an elevator. We both got inside, and then it took us down.

"What's that?" I asked, motioning to the baggie in Dr. Norris' hand.

"This is a sample from one of the diseased bodies." Dr. Norris held up the baggie. Inside was a thick, bloody square of flesh. I looked away from it.

When the elevator doors opened, another man was standing outside of them. He was also dressed in a white lab coat.

"Alex, what were you thinking?" The other man asked, staring at me. "Why did you bring her?"

"She said she's alone." Dr. Norris answered quietly. "She has nowhere to go."

The other man sighed heavily, turning his gaze to Dr. Norris.

"Did you tell her?"

"Tell me what?" I asked.

"That you cannot leave." The other man's eyes met mine. "You won't be able to leave this building."

"I know." I nodded.

"Her name is Roslyn Gardener." Dr. Norris informed the other man. "Roslyn, this is Dr. Edwin Jenner."

"Thank you for-"

"Roslyn, I'm going to require a blood sample." Dr. Jenner interrupted.

"A blood sample?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Okay." I shrugged. "That's fine. I've given blood before."

"I'm going to take this sample to the lab." Dr. Norris held up the baggie. "I can give Roslyn a tour when I'm finished if you're busy."

"I'll do it." Dr. Jenner said.

Dr. Norris walked off towards the lab, leaving Dr. Jenner and I alone.

"I'd like to get that blood sample now." Dr. Jenner said, turning. "Follow me."

I followed Dr. Jenner down the hall in the opposite direction that Dr. Norris had gone.

0o0o0

When Dr. Jenner had his vial of blood, he showed me the rest of the floor. There were several bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, a kitchen and dining area, and even a rec room. As he gave me his tour, he rattled off the rules and regulations. The biggest rule was to conserve as much electricity as possible. In fact, Dr. Jenner made me promise not to use any unless he asked me to.

"Alex should have been back by now." Dr. Jenner muttered as the tour ended.

I was about to ask Dr. Jenner what I could do, but he was already heading in the same direction Dr. Norris had gone. I decided to claim a bedroom and grab a shower. I wandered into the first bedroom I came to, shutting the door behind me. I dumped my duffel bag onto the bed before taking my shower. Dr. Jenner had warned me to try and conserve as much hot water as possible. I did as he said, using the little bottles of shampoo and conditioner in the shower.

When I was finished, I tugged a brush through my hair. Since I wasn't able to use a hair dryer, I braided it back off my face. The wet braid soaked through the tank top I put on. When I was dressed, I went out to see what Dr. Jenner and Dr. Norris were up to.

"Where is Dr. Norris?" I asked Dr. Jenner, who was sitting alone among the rows of computers.

"Dead." Dr. Jenner muttered without turning around.

"Dead?" I asked, my eyes widening. "How?"

"He was transferring the sample from the baggie to a petri dish." Dr. Jenner slowly turned towards me. "He slipped. The scalpel he was holding cut him, and the sample got into his wound."

I was at a loss for words. I walked up the steps towards Dr. Jenner. As I approached him, he lifted a glass of wine towards me.

"Well, here's to you and me. We're the only two people here." Dr. Jenner said sarcastically, taking a generous sip of his red wine.

"I was going to ask you about that." I said, taking a seat in one of the many swivel chairs. "Where is everybody?"

"Dead." Dr. Jenner replied simply, falling into a chair. "They're all dead."

"They were all infected?"

"Infected. Suicide. Homicide." Dr. Jenner spun around in his chair.

"Oh my god." I breathed, shaking my head. "I had no idea it was this bad."

"Oh yeah." Dr. Jenner stopped spinning. He was beginning to sound intoxicated. "This disease has gone global. It's probably wiped out most of the world's population. It's only a matter of time before it's taken over the world's population in its entirety."

"Jesus."

"He's probably infected too." Dr. Jenner said, pointing a finger at me.

I watched Dr. Jenner finish his glass of wine. When it was empty, he threw his glass over the railing. It shattered on the floor. When I looked up from the shards of glass, Dr. Jenner was uncorking a bottle of wine. I suddenly noticed the empty one at his feet. I was surprised he hadn't broken it.

"Dr. Jenner-"

"Edwin." Dr. Jenner said, looking up at me momentarily.

"Edwin, are you hungry?" I asked.

"I'm really, really thirsty." Edwin said with a funny smile.

"Can I cook you dinner?" I asked, rephrasing my question.

"You can if you want," Edwin shrugged and I got up with a sigh, "or you can get drunk with me."

I turned around. Edwin was holding out the wine bottle to me. It only took me a second to realize that his idea was much better than mine. I snatched the wine from him, taking a deep drink. I hadn't realized how much I had consumed until I pulled the bottle from my lips. I gave Edwin an apologetic look, holding the bottle back out to him.

"Come on." He said, standing. "There's more where that came from."

0o0o0

"To Dr. Norris." Edwin toasted, wine sloshing out of his glass as he raised it towards mine.

"To Dr. Norris." I repeated, tapping his glass with my own.

We were sitting on the floor, our backs against the kitchen counter. We had already finished another bottle of wine. We were working on another.

"This has been the worst day I've had all week." Edwin mumbled, swirling wine in his glass.

"Not for me." I sighed, taking a sip of wine. I turned my head towards Edwin. "You know what I was doing yesterday?"

"What?"

"I was killing twelve people." I replied.

Edwin stared at me for a moment. Then, he broke out into a fit of laughter. I couldn't help but laugh along with him as I watched his face become redder and redder.

"Yeah. I killed twelve people." I furrowed my brow. "Actually, I killed six. Victoria killed six."

"Who's Victoria?" Edwin asked, chuckling.

"A friend." I took a drink of wine.

"Where is she? Is she cute?" Edwin raised his eyebrows several times.

"She was…until I put a bullet in her head." I replied with a laugh.

"What?" Edwin asked, chuckling, but beginning to look disturbed.

"She got attacked by a biter. When I was volunteering at the hospital, I saw this old woman with a bite mark eat her husband." I took a gulp of wine. "I didn't want that to happen to Victoria."

Edwin looked down at his almost empty glass. He swirled around the last sip of wine.

"What do you know about the disease?" He asked, looking up at me.

"Not much." I shrugged. "I saw what I saw at the hospital. My friend told me that a bite or a scratch spreads the disease. He told me to find a shelter or go to the CDC."

Edwin took the last sip of wine before he set his glass down loudly.

"Maybe some time when we aren't drinking," Edwin's head lolled away from mine, "I'll show you something. It'll help you have a better understanding of what we're dealing with."

I finished off my wine too.

"I never got to say this earlier, but thank you." I murmured.

Edwin's head lolled back over towards me.

"For what?" He asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"For letting me in."

"I didn't."

"Well, thank you for letting me stay."

"I had no choice." Edwin shrugged.

"You know," I stumbled to my feet, "you're really terrible at accepting thank yous."

"You really shouldn't thank me." Edwin smirked, looking down at the floor.

"Why not?" I asked, steadying my swaying body on the counter.

"I didn't do my job." Edwin looked up at me. "There's no cure."

I turned without another word, and staggered down the hall towards my room. I fell into the door as I went to open it. The wine was taking more and more of an effect as I stumbled into the bedroom. The last thing I remembered before passing out was falling onto the bed with such force that I tumbled out of it and onto the floor.

0o0o0

_I stood near my grandmother's casket, watching as everyone took their turns paying their respects. Every time someone stood from the kneeler in front of the casket, they would come to me and tell me how sorry they were for my loss. I would accept their condolences as gracefully as I could, though on the inside, I wanted to crumble. Not only had I just lost my grandma, but my brother had skipped out on her wake and wouldn't be at the service or funeral in the morning._

_ To make matters worse, my grandpa had been a mess all that week. The night before, I found him standing in the middle of the kitchen. He was crying. I asked him what he was doing in the kitchen, but he couldn't remember why he had gone there in the first place. He was crying because he was afraid of having no memory of the last hour. I had settled him down eventually, but was worried for him. That morning, I made an appointment at the hospital for Monday._

_ "How are you doing, Roslyn?" Father Peter asked, taking my hands._

_ "As well as could be expected." I replied._

_ "Your grandmother was a wonderful woman." Father Peter released my hands gently._

_ "Thank you." I nodded. "She always enjoyed your Sunday sermons."_

_ Father Peter chuckled._

_ "How is your grandfather?" He asked._

_ "He's okay…"_

_ "What are all of you people doing in my house?!" I heard my grandpa cry._

_ I watched as everyone turned, revealing my grandpa to be standing in the middle of the room. He was looking around at everyone. His eyes were wide. His eyebrows were knit together in confusion._

_ "Grandpa?" I quickly moved to his side, gently taking his arm._

_ "Rosy, who are all these people?" My grandpa asked, his voice quivering with emotion._

_ "Grandpa, these are all of your friends and family." I murmured, rubbing his other arm with my hand. "We're at the funeral home, Grandpa."_

_ "What?" My grandpa looked all around again, still confused._

_ "Come on, Grandpa. Let's go outside." I said, guiding him towards the door._

_ "Rosy…I just don't understand…"_

I woke up on the floor, groaning the moment I opened my eyes. My head was spinning. In fact, the whole world was spinning. I barely staggered to the bathroom in time to be sick in the toilet. I wasn't surprised that I threw up. I was surprised by how much I threw up. I spent at least a half hour with my head in the toilet. When I was finally finished, I flushed the toilet and got up off the floor.

I knew the best thing I could do was eat something, so I padded towards the kitchen. As I approached, I heard movement. When I got there, I saw Edwin cooking at the stove.

"Good morning." He said, glancing up at me.

"If you call puking for thirty minutes good." I mumbled, falling into a chair at the table.

"I'm not surprised." Edwin chuckled quietly. "When's the last time you ate?"

"Two days ago." I said, resting my head in my arms.

"I'm sorry." Edwin said. "I should have gotten you something to eat last night."

"It's fine." I replied, my voice muffled by my arms. "I needed a drink."

"About that…"

I looked up and saw a plate of eggs in front of me. I looked up. Edwin was holding two steaming mugs. He set one down in front of me before sitting down across from me.

"I'm sorry that I was so negative last night." Edwin apologized, stirring his coffee.

"I wasn't Mary Sunshine." I scoffed, taking a drink of my own coffee. It warmed my stomach.

"I wanted to ask you about what you told me last night." Edwin slid his coffee away. "What do you mean that you killed twelve people?"

I moved a hand through my hair, wavy from the braid. I explained everything to Edwin, from my terrifying experience at the hospital to having to shoot Victoria after she'd been attacked by a biter. When I was finished, Edwin was shaking his head solemnly.

"I'm so sorry." He said sincerely.

"Me too." I sighed.

Suddenly, Edwin got up from the table.

"Where are you going?" I asked, watching him walk over to the counter. He put on his lab coat.

"I'm going to find a cure for this disease." Edwin fixed the collar of his coat. "If it's the last thing I do."

0o0o0

For the next week, Edwin and I developed a routine. I would make breakfast for us, and then he would go and work in the lab for several hours. While he was working, I would clean around the floor. He and Dr. Norris had neglected it. Then, I would make dinner for the both of us when he finally emerged from the lab. He would mutter about his findings, and although I didn't understand a lot of what he said, I listened to every word. Then, we would go our separate ways.

On the eighth day I had been there, as I was cleaning up after breakfast, I heard shouting. I ran to see what had happened, and found Edwin banging his fists on the wall in the room with all of the computers. He was also soaking wet, wearing only a pair of boxers.

"Godamnit!" He shouted angrily, beating the wall.

"Edwin?" I asked, approaching him. I carefully placed a hand on his wet back. "What is it?"

Edwin pressed his head against the wall. I felt his body shaking under my hand. At first, I thought he was crying. Then, I heard him chuckling. I removed my hand from his back as he slowly turned, his quiet chuckling turning into full blown laughter.

"I lost our freshest samples." Edwin finally said, his laughter dying down.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"What does that mean?" Edwin asked, running his fingers through his wet hair. "It means that we're done. We're finished. There is no cure, and there won't be one. At least…not for us."

I watched Edwin as he leaned against the wall, dripping water onto the floor. He was shaking due to the air conditioning against his wet skin. His eyes were dead, staring aimlessly at the floor. He looked the way he had the first night I was with him.

"I'll go and get you a towel." I muttered, leaving him.

I retrieved a towel from Edwin's bathroom. I chose a gray T-shirt, a pair of sweatpants, and a fresh pair of boxers for him to wear before returning to the computer room. I wasn't surprised to find Edwin sitting in a swivel chair with a wine bottle in his hand.

"Here." I said, handing him the towel.

Edwin could barely be bothered to take his lips off the wine bottle to dry himself off. I sighed as I maneuvered around him to dry him off. When I was finished, I tugged his soaked boxers off. I kept my eyes on his face as I dressed him, moving around his wine bottle as he continued to drink.

While I went to discard the soiled towel and wet boxers, Edwin mumbled in front of his computer. He often made recordings after his work in the lab was completed. The entry that evening was much darker than any other ones I had seen him record.

"Roslyn." Edwin held out a wine bottle to me when he had finished.

"Do you really think this is a good idea?" I asked. "Remember last time?"

"This time is different." Edwin set the wine bottle down while nursing his. "This will probably be the last time you'll ever drink."

"Come on." I said gently, sitting down in another chair. "You can't think like that-"

"You really don't get it do you?!" Edwin suddenly shouted, throwing his empty bottle at the floor. It shattered around our feet. "You have no idea how devastating this disease has been. You don't understand how important those samples were. You have no idea!"

I was taken aback by Edwin's anger, but he was right. I looked down at the broken glass for a moment before getting down on my knees to pick it up. As I was gathering the pieces, Edwin's hand appeared in front of my face. I looked up at him. His face had changed. I accepted his hand, and he pulled me gently to my feet.

"Come on." Edwin murmured. "I need to show you something."

Just as Edwin was leaning over the computer, an image came up on the screen. It looked like a diagram of the building. There were several red dots blinking just outside of the structure. Then, the image changed. It took me a moment to realize what it was. It was video surveillance from the camera I had seen outside, and there were people coming towards it.

"No." Edwin breathed, sitting down in the chair.

I leaned in, watching as the first person in the small group approached the shutters. He was dressed in a sheriff's uniform. He was even wearing the hat. A second man was hovering beside him wearing regular clothes. They both brandished weapons as they tried to open the shutters. The rest of the group was collected behind them, waiting.

"Edwin." I said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

My eyes flickered from the screen to Edwin. He was staring at the computer in disbelief.

"Go." Edwin suddenly said.

I looked back at the screen. The group seemed to be moving away from the shutters. Only the man dressed as a sheriff remained behind.

"Edwin, what are you doing?" I asked, shaking his shoulder.

"They have to go." Edwin murmured, almost to himself.

"What do you mean they have to go?" I asked, looking back down at him. "You have to let them in. It's getting dark outside."

A noise got my attention. I looked up at the screen. The sheriff was pounding on the shutters.

"I know you're in there. I know you can hear me." The sheriff said loudly, looking up at the camera. "Please, we're desperate. Please help us. We have women, children, no food, hardly any gas left…"

"Let them in." I said, looking down at Edwin. "Let them in!"

"I can't." Edwin replied harshly, meeting my eyes. "They won't be able to leave."

"You're killing us!" The sheriff screamed. "You're killing us!"

"Let them in!" I cried, turning Edwin towards me in his swivel chair.

Edwin looked up at me. He stared at me for a moment before looking back at the screen as the sheriff continued to scream. Edwin sighed heavily, turning away from me. I thought he was going to let them leave until he pressed a key on the keyboard in front of him. I heard the shutters open as a bright light consumed the camera.

"Thank you…" I breathed, sinking into a chair.

"Stay here." Edwin muttered, getting up. I watched as he walked towards the doors, taking the rifle that hung on a peg next to the doors. He turned back towards me. "If something should happen-"

"Nothing will happen." I assured him, but I slipped a hand to the knife at my waist.

Edwin nodded at me before leaving through the doors.

While he was gone, I didn't know what to do. I paced along the rows of computers, fiddling with the hunting knife at my waist. As I heard the sound of several footsteps coming down the hall towards the doors, I turned. I gripped the handle of the knife, waiting.

"Welcome to Zone 5." Edwin said, walking through the doors. He nodded towards me before glancing back at the group of people entering the room behind him. "This is Roslyn Gardener."

I released the handle of the hunting knife with a sigh of relief.

"Gardener?" I heard a voice from the back of the group say.

I watched as the group parted to reveal a familiar face wielding a familiar crossbow. He looked just as surprised to see me as I was to see him. I reached out to grip a computer when I realized that I had been holding my breath. For the first time since that night in the rain in the parking lot of Peach Tree Nursing Home, I felt a surge of excitement flowing through me as my eyes met a pair of blue ones.

"Daryl!" I cried breathlessly, running towards him.

I launched myself at my friend, wrapping my arms around his neck. His body went rigid as I pressed myself against him, burying my face into the side of his neck. He smelled like he hadn't showered since we parted ways, but I didn't mind in the slightest. After a moment, I felt his body slowly relax as he wrapped his free arm around me. It only made me want to get closer to him.

"Your heart is beatin' a mile a minute, girl." Daryl murmured in my ear.

"I'm just so happy to see you." I whispered, my voice still weak due to my shallow breathing.

Daryl and I released each other at the same time. He looked down at me for a moment before a smirk pulled at his lips.

"So…you listened to me, Gardener."

I nodded, trying to breathe normally again. Daryl seemed to notice, and he chuckled.

"In and out, girl." He said, amused.

"Sorry." I smiled, realizing that the group of people on either side of us were staring. Daryl looked around at their faces, then rubbed the back of his neck as he lowered his eyes to the floor. "Sorry, everyone."

I heard someone clearing their throat, and looked up to see Edwin looking at me.

"Roslyn, I'm going to draw their blood. Would you like to help me?"

"Sure." I nodded, regaining my composure as I walked towards him.

The group followed behind us as Edwin and I led them to the room he had taken blood from me in before. As we walked, he glanced down at me.

"Is that your friend? The one who told you about the CDC?" Edwin asked quietly.

"Yeah. His name is Daryl." I replied, looking up at him.

"I guess you owe him one." Edwin said with a half smile, looking away from me.

"Actually, I don't." I laughed, seeing Edwin give me a strange look out of the corner of my eye.

Edwin drew the blood while I took down information so that the vials wouldn't get mixed up. I felt like I should be back in scrubs. I held a clipboard containing a sheet of stick on labels, enough for each vial Edwin collected. I stood by his chair as the sheriff went first.

"Name?" I asked.

"Rick. Rick Grimes." The sheriff replied, looking up at me. "I hear that we owe all of this to you. Thank you."

"What do you mean?" I asked, furrowing my brow as I wrote down his name.

"I told them that the young woman inside insisted that I let them in." Edwin explained, glancing up at me for a moment before he began drawing blood.

"Are you a doctor here, ma'am?" Rick asked, looking up at me as he began to sweat.

"No." I held my clipboard under one arm as I went to the sink. I ran a rag under cold water, taking it to Rick. "For your forehead."

"Thank you, ma'am." Rick nodded appreciatively at me before holding the rag to his skin.

"You can call me Roslyn."

"Well you obviously know Daryl." A voice said.

I looked up and saw a young, Asian man meet my eyes. He gave me a smile.

"Or do you always greet strangers that way? If so, I'd like my greeting." The young man's smile grew as he held out his arms.

"Yes." I laughed, looking back down at my clipboard. "I know Daryl."

"You're finished." Edwin said, handing me the vial.

I removed Rick's label and stuck it to the vial, handing it back to Edwin.

That was the procedure with each person. While I took names, I glanced up several times at Daryl. He was sitting in a backwards chair, holding onto my grandpa's crossbow. He never met my eyes when I would look at him. The young, Asian man, who I learned was called Glenn, _did_ catch my eye a few times. Each time, he would wink at me. I tried to stifle smiles each time he did.

As Edwin finished with the last person, a blonde woman named Andrea, she stumbled. I reached out for her, as did Edwin, but a black woman named Jacqui reached her first.

"Is she okay?" Edwin asked, concerned.

"She hasn't eaten in days." Jacqui replied quietly, helping Andrea sit down. "None of us have."

"Oh my goodness. I'm so sorry." I set down the clipboard, looking down at Edwin. "We are terrible hosts."

Edwin gave me a small smile.

"I'll go and make dinner for everyone." I said, heading for the door. I turned back around. "Is pasta all right with everyone?"

"Food is good." Daryl muttered suddenly, looking over at me.

"Food it is." I said with a smile.

0o0o0

As I finished making dinner, Edwin produced several bottles of wine for everyone to share. I circled the table, spooning hearty portions of pasta into each bowl. Daryl was leaned against the counter as I filled his bowl. I noticed that he wasn't drinking any of the wine.

"Sorry. There's no PBR here." I told him with a smile, meeting his eyes.

"I guess it ain't fancy enough for this place." He replied, picking up his full bowl.

"Hang on." I said, setting down the empty pot.

I went to the liquor cabinet. It was full of wine, but there were a few bottles of liquor stashed inside. I selected a bottle of Southern Comfort, sliding it across the counter towards Daryl. When he heard the sound of the bottle coming towards him, he turned. His eyes lit up when he saw what is was.

"Roslyn, why don't you come and sit with us?" Lori asked, leaning around others to see me.

"I'm going to make another pot of pasta." I told her, cleaning out the pot in the sink. "You guys are starving."

"I love this woman." Glenn announced, raising his wine glass towards me.

Everyone laughed. I did too, looking up from the sudsy pot at the table of people. They all looked much happier than they had before. They were eating, drinking, and laughing together. It almost made me forget what was going on outside the walls of the CDC.

"When did you get here?" Daryl mumbled, taking a drink of the Southern Comfort.

"About a week ago." I replied, looking up at him while I scrubbed out the pot.

"Where were you before that?"

I glanced back down at the pot as I drained out the soapy water. As I looked into the water filling it up, I could almost see images of what had gone on at the nursing home reflected in it. I looked back up at Daryl, who was waiting for an answer.

"At a shelter." I told him with a forced smile.

Daryl made a sound in reply and nodded, taking another drink from his bottle.

"I'm kind of embarrassed that I just now noticed, but," I emptied the water from the pot, "where's Merle?"

Daryl's face changed. He frowned deeply before he pivoted away from me.

I wondered what had happened to Merle, but I could fill in the blank. He and Daryl had either been separated or Merle was dead. Either way, I felt bad. I filled the pot with water and set it on the stove before turning towards Edwin, who was sitting at a table by himself. I went over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me.

"You okay?" I asked, my eyes flickering to his untouched pasta and wine.

"Yeah." Edwin nodded, but his face didn't change.

"Okay." I said, rubbing his back for a minute before returning to the stove.

When the pasta was finished, I made my rounds to see who wanted more. Most everyone accepted a second bowl. I set the pot on the counter. I turned when I heard the sound of a glass clinking behind me. Rick had stood up, and was holding his glass out towards Edwin.

"It seems to me we haven't thanked our hosts properly." Rick said, nodding. "They are more than just our hosts. Thank you."

Everyone raised their glasses, cheering and clinking their own glasses.

I saw Edwin finally take a sip of his wine, but his face still hadn't changed. I was beginning to worry.

"So, when are you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, Doc?" Shane asked. "All the other doctors that were supposed to be figuring out what happened, where are they?"

"I really don't think that now is the best time for this." I said gently, crossing the room to stand by Edwin again. I laid a hand on his shoulder.

"We're celebrating, Shane." Rick said, glancing at Shane before meeting my eyes. "Don't need to do this now."

"Whoa. Wait a second. This is why we're here. Right?" Shane asked, looking up at Rick. "This was your move. Supposed to find all the answers. Instead we…we find him. Found one man. Why?"

"Shane-" I felt Edwin's hand on mine.

"It's okay." Edwin said, looking up at me for a moment. "Well, when things got bad…"

I listened while Edwin told everyone else what he had already told me. As he continued answering Shane's question, I went behind the counter. I opened the bottle of wine sitting there.

Edwin's words were running through my head. I thought about all of the people who had run, who had committed suicide, who had been infected. Of course, those thoughts led me back to the nursing home. I was a murderer. I had murdered six people and condoned the murder of six others. I was just as bad as the people who had run from the CDC, or the people who had committed suicide.

I knocked back the wine bottle. I drank noisily without taking a break to breathe. When the bottle was empty, and my mouth and throat felt warm from the wine, I set it down on the counter. I looked up, realizing that most everyone in the group was staring at me.

"Dude, you are such a buzzkill, man." Glenn murmured, looking away from me to stare at Shane.

"Well, I guess I'd better show you to your rooms." Edwin sighed, getting to his feet. "Follow me."

Everyone slowly got to their feet. They shuffled out of the kitchen after Edwin. As Daryl walked out, the bottle of Southern Comfort still in his hand, he glanced back at me. Our eyes had barely met before he was following the others.

While they were gone, I deposited all of the dirty dishes into the sink. I filled the sink with soapy water and left everything to soak while I carried another bottle of wine to the cleared table. I sat down by myself, taking liberal drinks of the wine. I was already feeling the effects from the bottle I had finished, but I continued chugging the second bottle. I wanted the bad memories out of my head. I wanted to feel something else other than guilt and pain.

"Hey."

I turned to see Glenn entering the kitchen. He wasn't wearing his ball cap from before. His black hair was visibly damp from having taken a shower.

"Hey." I replied warmly, lifting my half empty bottle. "Care to join me?"

Glenn walked over to the table. He sat down next to me. I could smell his shampooed hair.

"Sorry about before." He suddenly apologized, turning to look at me. "Shane can be a real wet blanket, but he's kept our group alive a long time."

"It's not your fault." I slurred slightly. "Have a drink, Glenn."

"I think you've had enough for the both of us." Glenn laughed.

"Live a little." I elbowed him, but missed him completely. I laughed along with Glenn.

"Why not?" Glenn sighed, getting up.

"There you go." I raised my bottle before taking a drink.

"So…what's your story?" Glenn asked when he returned with a glass of wine.

"No, no, no." I shook my head wildly, causing the world to spin a little more than before. "I don't want to talk about me. I want to talk about you."

"Me?" Glenn asked, smiling.

"Yeah. What's the deal with your group?" I asked.

"It's not really _my_ group." Glenn replied, taking a sip of his wine.

"You know what I mean." I pointed at him.

"I'm just teasing you."

"Those darn grandkids." I mumbled, having another drink.

"What?" Glenn asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Nothing." I shook my head again. "Go ahead and tell me about your group."

"Well…" Glenn looked away from me. "We were all camped out at this quarry just outside of downtown Atlanta. We had more people, but…we lost some during a walker attack."

"Walker? What's a walker?" I asked, looking at Glenn strangely.

"You know…the diseased people?"

"You mean biters?" I asked, having another sip of wine.

"Walker. Biter. Same thing." Glenn shrugged.

"Did you lose Merle?" I asked, letting out a small hiccup.

"You knew Merle?" Glenn asked, but then he recovered. "Duh. You know Daryl."

"So…did you lose him?"

"Yeah." Glenn rubbed the back of his neck. "That's kind of a sore subject. You might want to avoid bringing that up. Especially in front of Daryl."

"Too late." I hiccupped, covering my mouth.

"So _that's_ why he stopped talking to you during dinner." Glenn raised a finger with a smile.

I looked over at Glenn. I wanted to keep the bad memories away. I needed to feel something good. If Daryl weren't mad at me, I would have gladly thrown myself at him. Seeing as how he _was _mad at me…

I leaned towards Glenn, pressing my lips against his smiling ones. I felt hands on my shoulders, pulling my away. I moved back, looking at Glenn. He seemed surprised, but a blush was creeping into his cheeks. His hands remained on my arms.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing." Glenn loosened his grip on me. "Look, I would love to kiss you. You're gorgeous, and, well you're the first girl my age to come along since Amy."

"But?" I asked, smiling at Glenn's nervous chattering.

"You're drunk." Glenn frowned. "I just wouldn't feel right about kissing you while you were drunk."

I looked down at my lap.

"Come on, Roslyn. I'll take you to your room." Glenn said, hoisting me to my feet.

I let Glenn guide me to the door.

0o0o0

The next morning, I woke up in bed instead of on the floor like that last time I drank. However, I immediately realized that I was completely naked. I could feel the sheets against my skin. I peeled them back, looking down at myself. Sure enough, I was naked. I covered myself up again, realizing that I was in bed with someone. I could feel a body next to me. I expected to see Glenn as I rolled over since the last thing I could remember was him taking me to my room. Upon turning over, I realized that I wasn't in bed with Glenn. I was in bed with Daryl. It all came rushing back to me...

_"Is this one it?" Glenn asked, stopping outside a door._

_ "No." I pointed. "It's at the end of the hall."_

_ "Okay."_

_ I suddenly felt a hand on the small of my back._

_ "Whoa, whoa, whoa."_

_ I looked up to see Daryl standing over me. The smell of Southern Comfort mingled with the scent of wine coming off of Glenn and I._

_ "Where you takin' her, Chinaman?" Daryl asked._

_ "I'm taking her to her room." Glenn replied._

_ "He's taking me to my room." I repeated._

_ "Which one is it, girl?" Daryl asked, his lips pulling into an amused grin._

_ "At the end of the hall."_

_ "I'll take it from here, Glenn."_

_ Suddenly, I was being pulled up. Before I could ask what he was doing, Daryl had thrown me over one shoulder. I turned my head to look up at Glenn, who shrugged his shoulders as Daryl started walking towards my room._

_ "This one?" Daryl asked, pausing outside of my room._

_ "That's the one." I replied._

_ Daryl opened the door, taking me inside._

My eyes were glued to Daryl, who was rolled away from me. The rest of the night was a blur, but scenes from the evening flashed through my mind as I stared at Daryl's bare back.

_Daryl returned my sudden kiss hungrily, throwing me up against the closed door…_

_ I ripped off Daryl's shirt, busting a button in the process…_

_ Daryl tore off my tank top, ripping one of the straps loose…_

_ Daryl lifted me off the ground so that I could wrap my bare legs around his waist…_

_ Daryl pressed my back to the wall, using the action to thrust into me…_

_ Daryl bit into my neck as his pace quickened…_

_ I began to cry out, but Daryl used one hand to cover my mouth to muffle the sound…_

_ We rocked together as Daryl shuddered, still inside of me…_

I hadn't realized it before, but there were nails marks on Daryl's back. They were faded, but visible. I felt the sudden urge to run my hand over them, but I refrained.

Instead, I quietly slipped out of bed. I went into the bathroom, quickly freshening up. I continually poked my head out the door to make sure Daryl hadn't woken up. By the time I was presentable, he still hadn't so much as stirred. His deep sleep made it easy for me to leave the bedroom without being caught.


	4. Distraction

_When You Say Nothing At All_

**Distraction**

**zansbitch1: **Hahaha. Poor Glenn. Of course he doesn't have a chance against Daryl.

**Lorem tenebrae: **Drunk sex is the best! Well…drunk sex with Daryl is better than no sex with Daryl. Here's the next chapter!

**BlackRose851: **Thank you

**FanFicGirl10: **Don't you worry. There's plenty more where that came from.

**Leyshla Gisel: **You know it! Drunk sex can be pretty awesome with the right person, and Daryl is _always_ the right person to have sex with.

**VeritasKym: **Thank you! I didn't know if anyone would catch the Jesus joke. Dennis is a total douchebag. I'm still debating whether or not I want to include him in the story. I think that, in the future, I might tell the story from Daryl's POV or include flashbacks from his perspective. As for Daryl and Roslyn sleeping together already, I tried to convey that Roslyn needed a release. She was looking to Daryl to distract her from her bad memories. As for the sex scene being a blurb, don't worry, there will be more detailed encounters ahead!

0o0o0

By the time I made it to the kitchen, most of the group was already there. Glenn was moaning and groaning at the table. I felt a pang of guilt for urging him to drink more and for throwing myself at him. I quickly made my way over to the pot of coffee, pouring him a mug. I took it over to him, taking over for Jacqui, who was fussing over him. I sat down next to Glenn, placing a hand on his back.

"I'm sorry about last night." I whispered, sliding the mug in front of him.

Glenn turned to look at me. Though he was pale and sickly looking, he managed to give me a little smile.

"That's okay." He murmured. "The next time you try to jump me, just make sure you're sober."

I laughed, but Glenn's smile immediately disappeared. I covered my mouth.

"I'm sorry-"

"It's fine." Glenn moaned, burying his head in his arms.

"Here, Glenn, take some of these." Lori said, holding out an orange prescription bottle. "Jenner gave them to us. It looks like they're coming in handy."

I took the bottle from Lori, shaking out two pills. Glenn quickly took them, gulping down the coffee.

"Roslyn, we never really got a chance to talk last night." Rick said suddenly, eating his eggs. "Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?"

"What do you want to know?" I asked, rubbing Glenn's back rhythmically as I looked up at Rick.

"How old are you? Where are you from?" Rick shrugged. "Where were you before-"

"That's a lot of questions, honey." Lori murmured, giving him a look.

"That's okay. I don't mind." I insisted. "I'm twenty one years old. I have a birthday coming up in August, though, so I'm closer to twenty two I guess. I used to live just outside of Atlanta before all of this happened."

"Good morning."

I looked up just as Edwin's hand glided over my shoulder on his way to get coffee.

"Good morning." I replied, watching him fill his mug.

"Doctor, I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing-" Dale began to say.

"But you will anyway." Edwin mumbled.

"We didn't come here for the eggs." Andrea said suddenly, staring at Edwin's back.

Edwin remained with his back to everyone.

"In time, I'm sure that Edwin will answer your questions." I said, taking my hand from Glenn's back. "It was a rough day for him yesterday, and-"

"It's all right, Roslyn." Edwin said, finally turning around. I met his eyes. "I was going to show you something yesterday. It was something that I should have shown you on your first day here. I guess now would be a good time to do that."

I nodded.

"If everyone would follow me to the big room." Edwin said, taking a sip of coffee.

It didn't take long for everyone to get to their feet and follow Edwin. I helped Glenn up. Together, we followed everyone else into the big room. Edwin was already standing at a computer, pressing buttons on the keyboard.

"Give me playback of TS-19." He said, speaking to Vi.

Instantly, the large screen at the back of the room lit up. Images began appearing on the screen. There were several panels of what looked like a brain scan. The outline of a face illuminated the right side of the screen. I leaned against a desk with Glenn, watching.

"Few people ever got a chance to see this. Very few." Edwin announced.

The outline of a face grew a brain suddenly.

"Is that a brain?" Carl asked.

"An extraordinary one." Edwin replied, looking back at the screen. "Not that it matters in the end."

I noticed Daryl entering the room out of the corner of my eye. I dared to glance in his direction. Immediately, his eyes flickered to mine. We held each other's gaze for a moment before he finally gave me a nod, and then looked back at the screen. I did the same.

"Take us in for EIV."

_ "Enhanced internal view."_

Suddenly, the screenshot was the inside of the brain.

"What are those lights?" Shane asked.

"It's a person's life. Experiences, memories…it's everything." Edwin explained, turning to face everyone. "Somewhere in all that organic wiring, all those ripples of light, is you. The thing that makes you unique and human."

"You don't make sense ever." Daryl complained.

"Those are synapses, electric impulses in the brain that carry all the messages. They determine everything a person says, does, or thinks from the moment of birth to the moment of death."

"Death? That's what this is? A vigil?" Rick asked, walking towards Edwin.

"Yes, or rather, the playback of the vigil."

"This person died? Who?" Andrea asked, standing beside Rick.

"Test subject nineteen. Someone who was bitten and infected, and volunteered to have us record the process."

I looked at the inside of the brain, watching the synapses fire. They looked like twinkling Christmas lights.

_"Can I put the star on top, Grandpa?" My eleven year old self asked._

_ "Rosy, I think you put the star on top last year." My grandpa said, hanging an ornament. "It's your brother's turn this year."_

_ "I'll go and see if he wants to." My grandma said, abandoning her Christmas cookies._

_ "Why don't you go help Grandma lure your brother out?" My grandpa suggested._

_ "Okay."_

_ I walked to the back of the house and down the hall. My grandma was standing outside of Dennis' door, knocking on it gently._

_ "Dennis, sweetheart, don't you want to put the star on?" My grandmas asked through the door._

_ "I don't care about the star!" Dennis shouted._

_ "Dennis-"_

_ "It doesn't even snow here!" Dennis exclaimed angrily. "I hate it here! I hate it!"_

_ My grandma leaned away from the door. For a moment, I thought she was going to cry. Then, she noticed that I had witnessed the entire event. She gave me a smile._

_ "Come on, honey, let's go put the star on that tree."_

I looked at the screen. The brain was changing.

"What is that?" Glenn asked from beside me, taking a step forward.

"It invades the brain like meningitis. The adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain goes into shutdown, then the major organs."

The person on the screen was convulsing as Edwin spoke. The brain was beginning to dim. As the brain began to visibly shut down, the person's movement ceased. All of the light that had been on the screen had gone out. I knew without having to be told that the person had died.

"Everything you ever were or ever will be…gone." Edwin murmured.

It became quiet for a time. I could hear muffled tears from all around me. Everyone seemed to be focused on Andrea, whose shoulders quivered with silent tears.

"She lost somebody two days ago." Lori said, looking at Edwin. "Her sister."

I closed my eyes. Victoria's face flashed through my mind.

"Are you okay?" Glenn asked quietly, his hand on my shoulder.

I opened my eyes. Glenn was standing in front of me. I looked past him, at Daryl, who was looking at me also. His eyes were questioning, but he didn't come to me or speak. Eventually, he looked away from me. I returned my gaze to Glenn, forcing a smile onto my face.

"I'm fine." I said quietly. "It's just a lot to take in."

"It is for me too." Glenn removed his hand from my shoulder. "For all of us."

"I lost somebody too." I heard Edwin say, and turned my attention to him as he approached Andrea. "I know how devastating it is."

In the week I had been with Edwin, he hadn't mentioned anybody to me. I wondered if he was referring to Dr. Norris, or another doctor I had never met.

"Scan to the second event." Edwin said, returning to the front of the group.

_ "Scanning to second event."_

"The resurrection times vary wildly. We had reports of it happening in as little as three minutes. The longest we heard of was eight hours. In the case of this patient, it was two hours, one minute, seven seconds."

A red light began to glow in the middle of the brain.

"It restarts the brain?" Lori asked.

"No, just the brain stem." Edwin turned to look at Lori. "Basically, it gets them up and moving."

"But they're not alive?" Rick asked, approaching Edwin again.

"You tell me." Edwin replied, waving his arm at the screen.

"It's nothing like before." Rick said, shaking his head as he studied the image on the screen. "Most of that brain is dark."

"Dark. Lifeless. Dead." Edwin turned towards Rick. "The frontal lobe, the neocortex, the human part…that doesn't come back. The _you_ part. Just a shell, driven by mindless instinct."

The person began moving, but even the movement was different. The mouth open and shut, and I remembered the biter from Victoria's house. I remembered the way its jaws moved, the sounds it made.

Then, suddenly, something tore through the brain. My mind flashed to shooting Victoria in the head. I remembered the sound, the way it blew her head open, the brain matter I had washed out of my hair.

"You shot your patient." I said, everyone whirling around to look at me when I spoke. Edwin met my gaze. "You shot your patient, didn't you?"

"Vi, power down the main screen and the workstations." Edwin said, keeping my gaze as the screen and computers turned off.

"You have no idea what it is, do you?" Andrea asked, following Edwin.

"It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, fungal-"

"Or the wrath of God?" Jacqui asked.

"There is that." Edwin admitted, looking up at her.

"Somebody must know something." Andrea persisted. "Somebody, somewhere."

"There are others, right? Other facilities?" Carol asked, her arm around her daughter.

"There may be some." Edwin replied, turning around to face Carol. "People like me."

"But you don't know?" Rick asked. "How can you not know?"

"Everything went down. Communications, directives, all of it. I've been in the dark for almost a month."

"So it's not just here?" Andrea asked, as though it were Edwin's fault personally. "There's nothing left anywhere? Nothing? That's what you're really saying, right?"

"Man, I'm gonna get shit faced drunk again." Daryl mumbled, heading for one of the exits.

I watched him leave. With all of the new information swirling around my brain, I didn't need to know anymore. I didn't want to know anymore. I quickly followed Daryl out of the big room, avoiding Glenn's hand when he tried to catch my arm as I skated out.

"Wait!" I called out to Daryl, who pivoted immediately.

"What do you want, girl?"

I rushed towards Daryl, throwing myself at him. I wrapped my legs around his waist, my mouth already descended on his. I kissed him hard, biting at his lips. I heard Daryl growl, but had no intention of pulling away until he grabbed my face.

"What are you doin'?" He asked, breathing as heavily as I was.

"I'm trying to feel better." I gasped, trying to catch my breath. "I'm trying to forget."

Daryl gave me a questioning look. I thought he was going to ruin the distraction by asking me questions, but he surprised me by resuming our violent kissing. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer to his body, as he walked backwards in the direction of my bedroom. When he reached the door, he spun us around so that my back was against it. Though my head collided with the door, I ignored the pain as I continued kissing Daryl savagely, as though I was trying to rip the lips off his face. He seemed to be attempting to do the same to me.

"Hang on." Daryl mumbled between our angry kisses, pulling me off of the door.

He unwrapped one arm from around me, turning the knob. He quickly wrapped it back around me before using his foot to kick open the door. When we were inside of the bedroom, he kicked the door closed again. I wasn't sure where he was taking me until he set me down on the vanity.

Daryl let go of me, his hands fumbling with the button and zipper on my jeans. He eventually pulled them off of me, peeling off my underwear in the same movement. While he did that, I undid his belt and opened up his jeans. He was already hard inside of his boxers. I yanked him towards me, kissing him hotly as he groaned against me.

"Please." I begged, tugging on Daryl's boxers.

Daryl quickly pulled down his boxers. Before I could ask him again, he was pressing one hand to the small of my back, and guiding himself into me with the other. I moaned as he thrusted into me, using his hand on my back to push deeper inside of me. I wrapped my arms around Daryl's neck, pulling him closer to me as I sat on the edge of the vanity. As my nails raked over his neck, he growled into mine.

"Easy, girl." He groaned.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"What?" Daryl snarled, continuing to thrust into me.

I heard the door opening.

"I just wanted to check on…oh my god…" I heard Glenn say.

I leaned over Daryl's shoulder to see Glenn standing in the doorway. He was gaping at Daryl and I, visibly embarrassed that he had walked in on us. His mouth was moving as though he wanted to say something, but no sound came out.

"Get out!" Daryl roared, turning to glare at Glenn.

Glenn immediately exited the room.

"You didn't have to-"

"Shut up, Gardener." Daryl growled, turning his head back to face me again.

I did as I was told, but I could feel Daryl getting soft inside of me. His forehead met mine forcefully. He squeezed his eyes shut.

"Damnit." He muttered, keeping his warm hand on the small of my back.

"It's okay." I replied softly, not wanting to embarrass him.

I carefully lifted myself off of Daryl. He slid out easily. I went into the bathroom to clean up, leaving Daryl standing in the front of the vanity. When I came out, he was still there, but he had pulled up his boxers and his jeans.

"So…you embarrassed of me?" Daryl asked, watching as I collected my underwear and jeans.

"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as I pulled both on.

"You heard me."

"What are you talking about?"

"You wasn't in bed this morning." Daryl said, leaning against the vanity as I buttoned and zipped up my jeans. "Did you sneak out 'cause you didn't want anyone to see us in bed together?"

"That's a stupid thing to say." I replied, rummaging through my duffel bag. I pulled out a gray, zip up hoodie to wear over my tank top. "If I was embarrassed of you, don't you think you would have caught on by now?"

"I guess." Daryl shrugged.

"I'll have sex with you in the hall if that would make you feel better." I said, pulling on the hoodie.

"That's okay." Daryl chuckled.

"I'm going to find Edwin, make sure he's okay." I zipped up the hoodie halfway. "Are we okay?"

"Yeah." Daryl mumbled, moving away from the vanity. "We're cool."

"Okay." I nodded. I went to the door, but turned. "Thank you."

"For what?" Daryl asked, raising an eyebrow.

"For the distraction." I replied, leaving him behind in my bedroom.

0o0o0

I found Edwin in his office above the big room. I was surprised to see him dressed in very formal attire. He was wearing a striped, button up shirt and tie. He was sitting behind his desk, staring at a picture frame. I couldn't be certain without getting a full view of his face, but he looked as though he might be on the verge of tears.

"Edwin?" I asked softly, walking into his office.

Edwin didn't look up from the picture frame. He placed it on the desk, face down, and got up. I could hear him sniffing, and knew he must have been crying.

"We always think there's gonna be more time." Edwin sighed, staring down at the big room. "Then it runs out."

Suddenly, there was a sound accompanied by the lights dimming.

"What was that?" I asked, looking all around me for the source of the sudden change.

"That," Edwin turned around to face me, swiping something off of the desk, "was our time running out."

He walked past me, and I suddenly felt a stab of fear. I remembered how frightened I had been in the presence of the biter in Victoria's house. Something was wrong. I wasn't going to react late and nearly lose my life like last time.

I ran back down to the bedrooms, ignoring the several questions that came my way. I burst into my bedroom. Daryl was no longer there. I picked up my duffel bag, whirling around the room like a tornado as I gathered up supplies. I emptied out the bathroom cabinets of soap, shampoo, toothpaste, and other toiletries. I took a few items of clothing from the vanity. When I was finished, I zipped up the duffel bag and went out into the hall. Everyone was following Edwin towards the big room. I fell in line behind them, bringing up the rear with Carol and Sophia.

I could hear Daryl shouting at Edwin as we walked into the big room, lights continuing to dim all around us along the way. As we walked down the flight of stairs and onto the floor, Rick and a few of the others met Edwin at the bottom.

"Jenner, what's happening?" Rick asked quickly.

"The system is dropping all the nonessential uses of power. It's designed to keep the computers running to the last possible second." Edwin explained as we all walked with him. "That started as we approached the half hour mark. Right on schedule."

I glanced up at the digital clock on the wall. I had noticed it several times before, but had never thought to ask about it. Judging by the way Edwin was talking, he had explained what the clock was to the group before. I thought back to when that would have been, almost blushing when I remembered rushing after Daryl to serve as a distraction for my bad memories.

As we approached the computers, Edwin turned towards Andrea.

"It was the French." He told her.

"What?" She asked.

"They were the last ones to hold out as far as I know." Edwin replied. "While our people were bolting out the doors and committing suicide in the hallways, they stayed in the labs till the end. They thought they were close to a solution."

"What happened?" Jacqui asked.

"The same thing that's happening here." Edwin said, climbing the stairs. "No power grid. Ran out of juice. The world runs off fossil fuels. I mean, how stupid is that?"

I heard Edwin's tone becoming angrier. He sounded like he had the previous evening, when he had yelled at me before the group showed up.

"To hell with it. I don't even care." Edwin mumbled, heading towards the computer he always used.

Shane made a move to go after him, but Rick grabbed him. He turned towards Lori, instructing her to go and get their things while he continued to hold Shane back.

"We're getting out of here now!" Rick shouted.

I watched Edwin, loosely gripping my duffel bag, as he worked on the computer. I couldn't see what he was doing from where I stood, but a few seconds later, an alarm went off. A countdown appeared on the large screen, counting down from thirty minutes.

_ "Thirty minutes to decontamination."_

"Doc, what's going on here?" Daryl asked.

I watched as Edwin made his way to another set of computers. I watched his movement as Shane reiterated what Rick had said before. As everyone fled for the exit, I barely heard Daryl yelling at me as he tugged harshly on my arm. Something had just dawned on me. I remembered all of the times Edwin told me that I could never leave, that _we _could never leave.

"Oh my god." I breathed, my eyes widening.

I heard a sound behind me, and didn't need a wild imagination to guess that it was the exit doors being sealed. I felt Daryl let go of me, and briefly glanced up at him as he turned towards the sealed door.

"Did you just lock us in?" Glenn asked, horrified. "He just locked us in!"

I watched as Edwin sat down in front of a computer. When I heard him mumbling, I knew that he was recording.

"Did you know this was going to happen?" Daryl asked, grabbing my arm.

"No." I mumbled, watching Edwin.

"Did you know this was going to happen?!" Daryl shouted, grabbing both of my arms and forcefully turning me towards him.

"No." I muttered, my volume slightly louder.

Daryl turned his head to look at Edwin. He glanced back down at me once, his face changing. He let go of me, running towards Edwin. Along the way, he picked up my grandpa's crossbow, which he had leaned against the computers.

"You son of a bitch! You locked us in here!" Daryl shouted angrily.

Daryl grabbed Edwin, throwing him off kilter for a moment before Shane and T-Dog intervened.

I sank to the floor, sliding down the computers.

"Hey!" Glenn exclaimed worriedly, kneeling down next to me. "You okay, Roslyn?"

"Y-Yeah." I stuttered, staring at the floor.

"Let me help you up." Glenn offered, gently grabbing my arm.

"No…I think I'm going to sit here…for a while…" I murmured, continuing to stare at the floor.

"Then I'll sit with you." Glenn said, sitting down next to me. He sighed. "We're going to die here."

"I'm sorry, Glenn." I whispered, watching the several sets of feet scamper across the floor.

"About what?" Glenn asked, shifting beside me. "About earlier?"

Glenn grabbed my hand suddenly, causing me to look up at him.

"Like I said last night, you're gorgeous and you're my age, but that's not reason enough for me to kiss you. Call me old fashioned, or a loser, but I'd rather get to know you first."

"I…I meant that I was sorry…about…this." I replied quietly, gripping his hand. "But I am sorry about _that_ too."

"This isn't your fault." Glenn said, leaning in close to me.

"I should have known…"

"There's no way you could have known."

"Why are you being so nice to me…especially at a time like this?" I asked.

"Why not?" Glenn asked, his brow furrowing. "_Especially_ at a time like this."

"You know what this place is?!" I heard Edwin shout, Glenn's hand jumping in mine.

Glenn hoisted me to my feet, releasing my hand as we turned to see what had happened.

"We protected the public from very nasty stuff! Weaponized smallpox! Ebola strains that could wipe out half the country! Stuff you don't want getting out ever!" Edwin raged, his face becoming red. He turned towards Daryl suddenly, but pointed in my direction. "You told her to come here in the event of an outbreak? You told her to come _here_?!"

Daryl and I exchanged glances. His face was no longer marred by anger. He was wearing the same look on his face that he had when I told him I'd gotten kicked out of Urgent Care. He felt guilty.

"In the event of a catastrophic power failure," Edwin said, seated, "in a terrorist attack, for example, HITs are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out."

"HITs?" Rick asked.

"Vi, define."

_"HITs, high-impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosives, consist of a two stage aerosol ignition that produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear. The vacuum-pressure effect ignites the oxygen at between 5,000 and 6,000 degrees, and is useful when the greatest loss of life and damage to structure is desired."_

"It sets the air on fire." Edwin murmured. "No pain. An end to sorrow, grief, regret. Everything."

Rick and Daryl bolted for the exit. As Daryl ran towards the sealed door, he launched his empty Southern Comfort bottle at it. It shattered.

"Open the damn door!" Daryl shouted, whipping around towards us.

Shane, wielding an axe, began slashing at the door. Daryl grabbed another axe, joining him.

I looked over at Lori and Carol, who were sitting on the floor with their crying children. Andrea was curled up in the fetal position against a desk. Rick was trying to reason with Edwin to open the doors. The others were wandering around aimlessly, staring at the exits as though the doors would open.

I thought back to the nursing home. Victoria and I had done what we thought was best. Knowing now what I didn't know then, I would have done it all over again. The disease was much worse than I thought it was before. Now that I understood what he did and how much it had spread, I knew that those elderly people wouldn't have stood a chance out in the world.

I went to Edwin, kneeling down in front of him.

"Edwin, you have to open the doors. You have to let these people go." I said softly, looking up into his eyes. "They don't want what you want. They want a chance. They want to live."

"You had no idea how bad it was until I showed you." Edwin replied, looking down at me. "You have no idea what the world is like out there."

"Neither do you." I placed a hand on his knee. "You said it yourself that you haven't been outside of this building, other than to collect samples, since the outbreak."

"I can imagine." Edwin murmured, looking away from me.

"Do you remember what I told you about the nursing home? My grandpa?" I asked, lowering my voice so that the ones standing close wouldn't be able to hear me. Edwin nodded. "Those people were elderly and sick. Most of them had suffered strokes or seizures that left them partially or completely paralyzed. Others' minds were so far gone that they were afraid all the time, wondering every day why they were in a dim, crowded basement and not back in their rooms."

Edwin looked back down at me.

"Victoria and I…we did the right thing. Until the day I die, I'll always be haunted by our decision, but I know that it was the right one. These people," I glanced back at Rick and over at the mothers with their kids, "they aren't old and feeble. They're younger. They're stronger. They've survived out in the world this long. Don't…don't euthanize them."

I placed my other hand on Edwin's other knee.

"If you let them go…I'll…I'll stay behind with you…so that you don't have to die…alone."

"Roslyn-"

"It will be retribution," I said, standing up, "for what I did."

Edwin sighed, looking down at the floor. Then, he got up. He walked over to the computer he was standing at before. He took out his ID, and swiped it across a little machine I could now see. He pressed a few buttons, and the doors opened.

"Come on!" Daryl shouted, already running through the open door.

"Do you know why I stayed behind when everyone else…opted out?" Edwin asked, coming to stand by my side. "It was because of my wife."

"Roslyn, come on!" Glenn shouted, waving an arm to me. He was standing by the door, waiting for everybody else to leave.

"You never told me you were married." I said, remaining with him.

"I was." Edwin murmured, looking up from the floor. "She was infected."

"The patient we saw before…" I whispered, looking at the screen displaying the countdown.

"Roslyn! Roslyn, let's go!" Rick shouted, standing near the exit with his family.

"I did all of this for her, and if she was still alive…" Edwin looked back down at the floor. I saw his shoulders shaking, but before I could comfort him, he looked back up at me. "Go with them. Go with them if you want to live. If you want it to end, stay, but don't stay for me."

"Edwin-"

"Roslyn!" Rick shouted from behind me. I felt his hand pulling on my wrist.

"Wait!" I cried, tugging back so that I could throw my arms around Edwin. "Thank you. Thank you for keeping me safe for the past nine days. Thank you."

"You're all infected, Roslyn." Edwin whispered, returning my embrace. "You all carry the disease."

"Roslyn." Rick murmured, his hand on my back. "We have to go."

I allowed Rick to pull me towards the exit, glancing back at Edwin one last time. Everyone was collected around the exit, only Jacqui remaining behind. She was going to stay and die. As we all ran out of the big room, Dale remained behind.

As we made it up to ground level, the men ran to the large windows. They tried breaking the glass with their axes and the butts of their guns, but to no avail. Shane, in desperation, fired a few rounds at the glass. When it still didn't break, it looked like we were all going to die after all. Then, Carol produced a hand grenade for the men to try. While Rick pulled the pin, the rest of us took cover. When the explosion occurred, the glass shattered.

We all carefully maneuvered past the broken glass. As we got outside, I saw a string of vehicles parked near the curb. I assumed that they belonged to the group. I didn't remember seeing them nine days earlier. I paused as Shane, Rick, and Daryl took down the biters that were staggering towards us. I didn't know which vehicle to go to or if I would even be welcome.

"Roslyn!" I looked up to see T-Dog waving his arm at me. "Come on!"

I ran towards the van he was getting into, throwing my duffel bag into the backseat through the open window. I barely had enough time to get into the passenger seat before T-Dog was telling me to get down. I huddled into a ball in my seat, covering my head as an even bigger explosion than before sounded off. It roared through the air, nearly deafening me before I clamped my hands over my ears.

As the noise subsided for the most part, I lifted my head and uncovered my ears. The CDC was no more than a pile of rubble. The rubble was consumed in a towering inferno. Smoke was already billowing around the flames.

"You okay?" T-Dog asked from beside me.

I nodded vigorously, keeping my eyes on the fire.

I was vaguely aware of the van moving in line behind the other vehicles. I continued to watch the fire, Edwin's words running circles around inside of my head.

0o0o0

"Can we talk?" T-Dog asked suddenly after having not spoken for a good half hour or so.

"About what?" I asked, turning to look over at him as he drove.

"Nothing." T-Dog looked back out the windshield. "I keep thinking about bad stuff. I figured that if we were talking…"

"I understand." I said. "I keep thinking about bad stuff too."

"I'm sorry about Jenner." T-Dog glanced over at me. "Were you guys close?"

"I didn't really know him." I replied, looking out the window.

"You weren't there long, huh?" T-Dog asked. "I think I heard you tell Dixon you were there for a week?"

"Yeah." I nodded.

It was quiet for a few minutes. I looked over at T-Dog. I remembered seeing Dale and Andrea emerge from the CDC, but I hadn't seen Jacqui.

"I'm sorry about Jacqui." I said softly, watching T-Dog's face.

"She made her choice I guess." T-Dog muttered, staring harder at the road.

"What were you doing before all of this?" I asked, changing the subject.

"I was a locksmith." T-Dog replied, glancing over at me. "On Sundays, I drove the local elderly to church. It was just a volunteer gig, but it got me this van."

I turned my body towards T-Dog.

"Did you really?" I asked, thinking of my grandparents.

"Yeah." T-Dog gave me a strange look. "What?"

"I was a volunteer at my grandpa's nursing home before all of this."

"What was the name of the nursing home?" T-Dog asked, his expression relaxing.

"Peach Tree."

"I think I know that place." T-Dog said, glancing over at me every few seconds. "Did a woman named Loretta work there? A nurse?"

"Yeah." I mumbled, looking away.

"Uh oh." T-Dog shook his head with a chuckle. "What did she do?"

"She abandoned twelve senior citizens to get her own ass to safety." I muttered angrily.

"Whoa." T-Dog gaped at me. "Seriously?"

I nodded, clamping my jaw shut to avoid saying anything worse about Loretta.

"Do you know what happened to them?"

I nodded again.

"If it makes you feel any better," T-Dog leaned towards me, "I took this van around my neighborhood when the disease hit Georgia. I took all of the seniors living around me to the church."

"You did?" I asked quietly, looking back at T-Dog.

"Yes ma'am." T-Dog replied, sitting upright.

"Thank you." I murmured. "Thank you for doing that, and thank you for letting me ride with you."

"It was the least I could do." T-Dog shrugged. "The way I figure, if you hadn't said whatever you said to Jenner, we'd all be flame broiled right about now."

"Maybe. Maybe not."

T-Dog and I drove in silence until the vehicles all pulled over to the side of the road as the sun began to set. He pulled the van over, and we both got out. Everyone was congregating in a circle just outside of the RV.

"What's going on?" I asked, looking over at T-Dog.

"I don't know." T-Dog muttered, walking alongside me towards the group.

"Is everyone here?" Rick asked, standing in the middle of the circle. He looked all around, taking everyone into account. "Okay. Now, the plan is Fort Benning. It's about 120 miles south of here."

"What if Fort Benning is in the same shape as the CDC?" A worried Carol asked.

"We'll worry about that when we get there." Rick replied, giving her a nod. "Now, we need to start conserving fuel. That means we're going to have to leave some of the vehicles behind tomorrow."

"We should definitely keep the RV." Glenn said, glancing back at the RV.

"I'll leave the truck behind." Daryl spoke up, pointing a thumb in the direction of the truck. "The damn thing has cost me more trouble than it's worth. I'll just use Merle's bike."

"That's good." Rick nodded in agreement.

"I say we take one of the Jeeps." Shane said. "We don't need both of them."

"Mine fits more people." Carol said.

"Fine." Shane nodded. "I'll leave mine behind."

"T-Dog, are you good with leaving the van?" Rick asked, craning his neck to look at T-Dog.

"Yeah." T-Dog glanced back at the van for a moment before nodding in agreement.

"Now that's settled, let's have a quick dinner and set up watches for the night."

Everyone dispersed. I felt somewhat awkward. The group had been together since the beginning. They had a system. I felt out of place. I didn't know how to offer my services without stepping on any toes or disrupting any kind of routine the group had fallen into. Rick was definitely their leader, so I figured that I should speak with him to settle any internal arguments I was having with myself.

Rick was standing with his wife. I slowly approached them, hoping that I wasn't interrupting an intimate or important conversation.

"Rick?" I made myself known, waiting for him to turn and acknowledge me. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

Rick gave me a smile and started to open his mouth, but Lori took a half step in front of him.

"No." She said harshly, surprising me. "You don't need a second with him. You already sacrificed enough of his time with that stunt you pulled at the CDC."

"Stunt?" I asked, my brow furrowing in confusion.

"Lori-"

"Do you realize that you could have gotten us all killed?" Lori asked, interrupting her husband. "Rick had to physically pull you out of there. You cost him, and our entire group, precious seconds. We almost didn't get out of there alive, and it's your fault."

"Lori," Rick turned towards his wife, "Jenner wouldn't have opened those doors if it weren't for Roslyn. She was able to talk him into giving us a chance to escape."

Lori rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything else to me. She allowed Rick to give her a kiss on the cheek before she stalked off. When she had gone, Rick turned towards me. He was wearing the same apologetic look he had when Shane had badgered Edwin with questions.

"I'm sorry." Rick told me sincerely. "If there's one thing you should know about my wife, it's this: she _always_ has an opinion. She'll always give it too, even if you don't ask for it."

"I really didn't mean to cause a problem-"

"You didn't." Rick interrupted, raising his hand. "It's been a long day for everyone."

"We can talk later if that would be better?" I suggested meekly, trying to swallow my embarrassment from the confrontation with Lori.

"Now is as good a time as any." Rick replied, leaning against the RV. "What's on your mind?"

I sighed, pressing my back against the RV. I looked out at the fields beyond the fence.

"I need you to tell me that it's okay for me to be here." I said, looking up at Rick as his eyebrows knit together in confusion. "I realize that before, you were on a mission to get everyone inside of the CDC out of it. If you were just making sure I got out due to some obligation you still feel towards your badge, you can tell me. I'll go. I wouldn't want to burden your group."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Rick leaned away from the RV, waving his hands. "Is this because of Lori?"

"No." I shook my head. "It's because your group has been together for a while, and I don't know if there's a place for me in it."

"You want to know something?" Rick asked, putting his hands on his hips. "I wasn't with this group from the very beginning. When the disease spread to Georgia, I was in a coma in the hospital."

"You were?" I asked, my eyes widening.

"Yeah. When I woke up, I managed to get out of the hospital and back to my house. It was empty. Shane had taken Lori and Carl. They tried to get to a shelter, but…well, anyways, I ran into a man and his son in my old neighborhood. Morgan and Duane were their names. They took me in, even though I could have been infected. I would be dead if it wasn't for them."

"I understand." I nodded, looking down at the ground.

"I owe a debt to them. I owe a debt to you for talking Jenner into letting us out."

I looked back up at Rick. He was looking at me, and when our eyes met, he smiled.

"Even if I didn't, I would still welcome you into our group."

"Why?" I asked.

"I don't want to let this world change me." Rick looked off into the distance. "Even if the world is a different place, I don't want to be a different person. As a cop, I would have risked everything to help somebody in need. I'm going to continue doing that."

I was touched by what Rick had to say. He had no idea how much his words meant to me, or how much I agreed with them. I remembered the nurse who neglected residents at the nursing home. I remembered the way Loretta and the others had abandoned them. I remembered the way the people at Urgent Care and at the hospital treated the Dixon brothers.

"Are you all right?" Rick asked, setting a hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah." I nodded, looking up at him. "That was just…really nice to hear."

"Good." Rick replied softly, giving my shoulder a light squeeze before he released me.

"I was wondering…what can I do to help out? How do things work with your group?"

"We all have assigned chores and duties." Rick explained, putting his hands on his hips. "The women generally take care of cooking, laundry, and taking care of Carl and Sophia. Daryl does most of the hunting, though Andrea and her sister used to catch quite a bit of fish for us too."

"You said something about watches earlier?" I asked.

"The men all perform watches. We have a rotation so that everyone gets in a few hours of sleep."

"So I should definitely offer my services to the ladies?"

"I was going to ask you about your volunteer experience." Rick said, folding his arms. "None of us have a whole lot of medical knowledge, other than basic first aid. Do you think you could serve as our nurse, so to speak?"

"I've seen a lot during my time as a volunteer." I replied. "I set Merle Dixon's nose and stitched Daryl up just before the disease hit Georgia."

Rick laughed.

"That sounds great."

"I should warn you though, if someone should require surgery, I won't be very useful."

"I guess we'll all have to be really careful." Rick replied with a smile.

Rick's attitude towards me and his smile made me want to confide in him about what Edwin had told me. Though I didn't know him well, I already knew that Rick was a man I could trust. Seeing the way he had lightened up after everything that had happened earlier that day, I didn't want to drag him back into darkness. I decided to tell him another time.

0o0o0

After a light dinner, everyone got into their vehicles to sleep. Glenn and T-Dog took first watch, and they immediately asked me to join them for a little while on the roof of the RV. I happily agreed, knowing that they would keep my mind out of the dark places it had made a habit of visiting frequently. I climbed onto the roof, taking a seat in between them as they watched opposite sides of the road.

"So…Glenn told me a little something, something." T-Dog said casually, wasting no time.

"What?" I asked, turning my head to look at Glenn. "You have such a big mouth."

"I really don't. I swear." Glenn replied quickly. "I'm just terrible at keeping secrets."

"So he walked in on Daryl and I? What's the big deal?" I asked, turning to look at T-Dog.

"What?" T-Dog asked, his eyes widening and his mouth pulling into a grin. "He what?"

I felt a blush creeping up my face when I realized that T-Dog hadn't been referring to Glenn walking in on Daryl and I having sex. I covered my face, wanting to disappear.

"_Now_ who has a big mouth?" Glenn asked, laughing next to me.

"Glenn just told me that you kissed him." T-Dog said, laughing along with Glenn. "He didn't say anything about walking in on you and Daryl. Were you two getting it on?"

"Shut up." I mumbled, shoving T-Dog with my other hand.

"They totally were." Glenn answered for me, stifling a smile when I glared at him. "What? _You_ brought it up."

"Not on purpose." I muttered, wrapping my arms around myself.

"Come on, Roslyn, there's no shame in getting a little action." T-Dog said, setting a hand on my back. "Desperate times call for desperate measures."

"I mean…I wasn't desperate." I murmured, looking out over the fields.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. I don't mean anything." I replied loudly, waving my arms.

"I mean, they did know each other before all of this." Glenn mused aloud, rubbing his chin. "Maybe she wasn't desperate because…"

"You two have hooked up before!" T-Dog nearly shouted, shoving me.

"Oh my god." I sighed, cringing when Glenn and T-Dog busted out laughing again.

"Why did I even come up here to hang out with you guys?" I asked myself aloud.

"You know we're hilarious." T-Dog managed to say through his laughter.

"Yeah. Sure." I rolled my eyes.

Suddenly, the door to the Jeep opened. Lori poked her head out, glaring up at the three of us.

"Lower your voices. If we can hear you inside of these cars with the windows rolled up and the doors shut, the walkers out there in the open can hear you too." She hissed angrily.

"Sorry, Lori." Glenn replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

Lori slammed the car door.

"If we can hear you slam the car door, the walkers out there can hear it too." I mocked Lori with an annoyingly high voice, causing Glenn and T-Dog to bust out laughing so hard that they had to cover their mouths before Lori yelled at us again. "I better go before we get into more trouble."

"I like you already, Roslyn." T-Dog said as I started down the ladder.

"I like you guys too…sort of." I replied with a smile.

"Goodnight, Roslyn." Glenn whispered.

"Goodnight, guys."

I walked along the line of vehicles. Lori, Carol, and the kids were in Carol's Jeep. Rick and Shane were sharing Shane's Jeep. Dale and Andrea were in the RV. Daryl was in the truck. As I walked towards it, I could hear Glenn and T-Dog making kissing noises from the top of the RV. I raised my middle finger in their direction without turning, and I heard them chuckling quietly.

I knocked on the driver side window, and Daryl immediately sat up. He ran a hand through his unkempt hair and yawned, unrolling the window with his other hand.

"What?" He asked tiredly, rubbing one of his eyes.

"I'm sorry that I woke you up." I apologized quietly. "Do you mind if I share the truck?"

"Jump in." Daryl replied, unlocking the doors so that I could get in.

I went over to the passenger side door. I climbed in, reclining my seat back as far as it would go. Daryl was already laying back down, his arm thrown over his eyes. I closed my eyes, listening to the sound of his quiet breath. It was comforting, but not enough to where I felt like I could sleep.

"If you keep sighin' like that, you're gonna keep me up all night." Daryl mumbled.

I opened my eyes to see Daryl had lifted his arm just enough to look over at me.

"I'm sorry. I didn't even realize that I was doing that." I whispered.

Daryl covered his eyes again, and I thought he was sleeping until he spoke.

"What were you guys talkin' about up there?"

"We were just having a few laughs." I replied quickly, catching the look Daryl gave me when he removed his arm again. "Lori yelled at us."

Daryl scoffed, shaking his head.

"She doesn't like me." I murmured, running my eyes over the center console.

"What?" Daryl asked, sitting up a little. "What are you talkin' about?"

"Apparently, she thinks I nearly killed everyone back at the CDC." I explained, meeting his eyes.

"Lori can shut the hell up." Daryl growled, turning completely to look at me.

"Rick told me she's pretty opinionated-"

"Understatement." Daryl snorted, shaking his head.

It was quiet for a time. Daryl was staring out the windshield.

"I did what you told me to do." I finally said, causing him to glance over at me. He raised an eyebrow in question. "I got a gun."

"Where is it?" Daryl asked, his eyebrow still hovering.

"It's in my duffel bag. I left it in T-Dog's-"

"What good is it if you don't have it on you?" Daryl interrupted harshly.

I bit my lip and looked down at my lap. I had been carrying the gun until I got to the CDC. I always left it in my bedroom, but kept the hunting knife on me at all times. It was still at my waist.

"What kind of gun is it?" Daryl asked with a sigh, his voice softer.

"I really don't know." I admitted sheepishly, looking up at him. "It carries twelve bullets at a time. I only have eleven left."

"I guess that's better than nothing." Daryl muttered. "I'll take a look at it tomorrow."

"Maybe you could show me how to use it?" I asked, gauging his reaction.

"That's a damn good idea." Daryl replied, rolling his eyes. "None of the women in this group know how to use guns. At a time like this, _everyone_ should know how."

"Yeah." I nodded in agreement.

"Why only eleven?" Daryl asked suddenly.

"What?"

"Where's the twelfth bullet?" Daryl asked, looking over at me.

"Oh." I looked out the windshield, avoiding his gaze. "I only found eleven."

Daryl grunted.

"That's weird."

I sighed, turning to look at him. Our eyes met.

"That's a lie." I admitted quietly. "I didn't find eleven bullets."

"Well…?" Daryl asked, waiting for my explanation as to where the twelfth bullet was.

"I…I had to shoot someone." I murmured, looking down at the center console. I was surprised when I felt fingers beneath my chin. I allowed Daryl to tip my face up.

"Don't do that." He told me sternly, but softly. "Don't feel guilty about something you shouldn't feel guilty about."

I stared into Daryl's eyes. He wasn't passing judgment on me.

"We gotta do what we gotta do to survive." Daryl said, removing his fingers from beneath my chin. "If you let every shitty thing we have to do to get by mess you up, you're gonna wind up turning that gun on yourself."

I watched Daryl lean back against his seat, his eyes still on mine.

"Did you shoot your grandpa?" He asked, startling me.

"Why would you think that?" I asked, turning my body completely towards him.

"I know you wasn't at a shelter like you said you was." Daryl replied, looking down.

"What? How did you-"

"I know you wouldn't have left your grandpa while he was still livin', and the last time I checked, he was in the basement with a bunch of other folks." Daryl interrupted, his fingers raking up and down his jeans.

"You…?" I whispered, suddenly remembering something…

_"Grandpa, what's wrong?" I asked, sitting down on the edge of his bed._

_ "I want to see Dennis." My grandpa pouted, folding his arms and scowling at the blanket._

_ "I'm sorry, Grandpa. Dennis isn't here."_

_ "He was just here, Rosy." My grandpa argued, looking up at me. "He visited me."_

_ "What are you talking about?" I asked, lifting an eyebrow._

_ "Dennis came to see me." My grandpa leaned towards me. "He and I had a nice talk."_

_ "About what?" I asked, playing into whatever memory he was replaying in his mind._

_ "He told me that he had to move me to a different room." My grandpa frowned again. "I didn't ask for a room change, Rosy."_

_ "I know, Grandpa." I sighed, covering his hand with mine. "What else happened?"_

_ "Dennis moved me down here. He moved a bunch of us down here." My grandpa said, his frown fading. "He told me that he had to go away, but that he would bring you here."_

_ I realized that my grandpa must have been referring to Maddox. I patted his hand._

_ "I'm here, Grandpa." I assured him, standing up._

_ "Do you know what Dennis brought for me?" My grandpa asked as I was turning to go._

_ "What?"_

_ "He brought my old crossbow. He let me touch it one last time." My grandpa said, closing his eyes. "Dennis is a nice boy."_

I couldn't believe that I had been so stupid. When my grandpa mentioned the crossbow, I assumed he was just fusing two memories together. I hadn't stopped to consider that my grandpa mistook Dennis for Daryl.

"Daryl…you…you put my grandpa in the basement?" I asked quietly, watching his face.

"Those creeps you worked with left a bunch of 'em in their rooms. There were only six or seven people in the basement when I took your grandpa down there." Daryl continued to stare at his jeans. "I figured if I was gonna move him down there, I might as well move the others-"

I interrupted Daryl by pressing my lips to his. I could tell that I surprised Daryl. He remained frozen underneath me for a moment, but then I felt the pressure of his lips kissing mine back. I wrapped my arms around Daryl's neck, pulling him closer. I gave him several kisses before I pulled away from his mouth, looking into his blue eyes.

"Thank you." I breathed. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Daryl mumbled softly, looking into my eyes.

I finally pulled away from Daryl, and he rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'll…I'll let you sleep now." I murmured, curling up in my seat. I rested my head on the center console. "Goodnight, Daryl."

I heard Daryl grunt his reply, and smiled as I slowly drifted off to sleep.


	5. Good Friends

_When You Say Nothing At All_

**Good Friends**

**Lorem tenebrae: **Daryl can just be so gosh darn adorable sometimes. As for the conversation between Daryl and Roslyn's grandpa, you'll see snippets of that later. I'm glad you liked the chapter!

**FanFicGirl10: **Now that the conspiracy is over, I was finally able to update! Hahaha. Glenn's too sweet to be mad at for interrupting the…ahem…_distraction_. Plus, he's one of Roslyn's buddies. Lori is such a bitch. Thank goodness she's dead. Now if only something terrible would happen to Andrea…

**GatorGirl99: **Thank you for the compliment! I'm glad you love my story so far.

**crazywritinggirl96: **Here, here, here! You're welcome!

**Leyshla Gisel: **I guess you'll find out…

**Nelle07: **He is definitely more than just a distraction. I'm sure Roslyn will realize that at some point.

**Four Letter lie 91: **I'm glad that you love the story so far. Enjoy!

0o0o0

The next morning, everyone was up early. I woke up with my head still resting on the center console. As I sat up, I realized how stiff my neck was from sleeping in that position all night. I ran a hand through my bed hair, getting out of the truck. Daryl was sitting on top of the RV. Carol and Lori were loading things into the Jeep we were taking with us. Their kids were wandering around by the fence. Rick was standing by himself on the other side of the road. I decided that I should tell him about what Edwin had told me, and walked across the road towards him.

"Rick," I said, standing next to him, "I need to tell you something important."

"What is it?" Rick asked, looking down at me.

"Dr. Jenner told me something before we left the CDC."

"I wondered what he said to you." Rick replied, turning towards me. "What is it?"

I glanced back to make sure nobody was around. Lori was looking over in our direction, but she looked away when Carol said something to her.

"Dr. Jenner told me that…we're all infected…with the disease." I murmured.

Rick's eyes widened. His lips parted as though he was going to say something, but he didn't. We stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity before he finally spoke.

"So…when we die…" He muttered, looking over at his family.

"I'm sorry that I didn't say anything last night." I said, looking away. "I didn't want to ruin the evening, but I knew I couldn't keep carrying that around-"

"We can't tell them." Rick interrupted, turning back towards me. "We can't say anything."

"Why not?" I asked.

"It will only scare them-"

"Roslyn?"

Rick and I both looked up and saw that Lori was crossing the road towards us. She wrapped her arms around herself, her long, brown hair blowing in the occasional breeze.

"I wanted to apologize for last night." Lori said, standing close to Rick. "Maybe I was hasty in blaming you for our close call. I'm sorry."

"That's okay." I told her.

"Carol and I came across your bag. Where can we put it for you?"

"I hadn't really thought about it." I scratched the back of my head. "I guess I'll ride on the RV."

"Okay." Lori nodded.

I waited for Lori to walk away, but she remained where she was. Though my conversation with Rick hadn't really ended, I decided to go. I left them standing together while I went to where my duffel bag was sitting. I reached down to grab it, but a set of hands beat me to it.

"Is your gun in here?" Daryl asked, crouching down.

"Right on top." I told him, standing up as he unzipped the bag.

"This is a 9mm." Daryl said, pulling out the gun. "It's a Smith and Wesson."

"Is that good?" I asked as Daryl stood with the gun in his hands.

He looked up at me and chuckled.

"Yeah. That's good." He shook his head with a grin. "It's compact, which is good for you."

"Good." I nodded.

"Andrea has a 9mm too." Daryl said, handing me the gun. "Keep this on you at all times, girl."

"I will." I promised, taking the gun.

I went to pick up my duffel bag, but Daryl beat me to it again. He zipped it up, slinging it on his shoulder.

"Who're you ridin' with?" He asked, motioning to the RV and Jeep.

"RV." I pointed, and Daryl walked over to it. He disappeared inside, and when he came back, my duffel bag wasn't on his shoulder.

"You're all set."

"Aren't you a gentleman?" I asked with a smile.

Daryl shrugged before walking past me towards the truck.

"You coming, Roslyn?" Glenn asked, poking his head out from the RV.

"I'm coming." I told him, heading that way.

T-Dog was sitting on the couch. He patted the seat next to him, and I took it with a laugh. Shane and Andrea were seated at the table across from us. Shane had taken apart his gun and was cleaning it. Andrea was watching him with interest.

"Is everyone ready?" Dale asked, turning around.

"We're set." Shane answered without taking his eyes off his gun.

Dale started up the RV, and we were off. As we started driving, I heard the sound of a motorcycle. I watched out the windows as Daryl sped ahead of the RV on his brother's bike. He led the way as we drove towards Fort Benning.

"Why didn't you go with your honey?" T-Dog asked, elbowing me gently in the ribs.

"Shut up, T-Dog." I muttered, holding up my fist threateningly.

"What?" T-Dog asked, looking at me innocently.

"All right." I said, scooting closer to T-Dog. "Let me give you all the nasty details…I fell asleep. In my seat. Daryl fell asleep. In his seat. The end."

"If you say so." T-Dog chuckled. "That's not what I saw last night."

"What did you see last night?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"When I came to get Dixon for his watch, you had your head on the console. He had his head on top of yours." T-Dog sighed dramatically. "It was the cutest thing."

"I take it back. I don't like you." I scooted away from T-Dog, folding my arms over my chest.

"Theodore, are you teasing Roslyn?" Dale asked, looking at us in the rearview mirror.

"Theodore?" I asked, cracking a smile as T-Dog rolled his eyes.

"If you lay off Theodore, I'll lay off you and Dixon." T-Dog said, extending his hand.

"Deal," I shook T-Dog's hand with a grin, "_Theodore_."

T-Dog groaned as Glenn and I laughed.

As we drove, I began watching Shane clean his gun with just as much interest as Andrea.

"Looks complicated." She said finally.

"The trick is getting all these pieces back together the same way." Shane replied, glancing up at Andrea for a moment. "I could clean yours, show you how."

Shane leaned over, producing another gun from the bag of guns at his feet.

"It's a sweet piece." He told Andrea.

"It was a gift from my father." Andrea replied, looking dreamily at the gun. "He gave it to me just before Amy and I took off on our road trip. He said two girls on their own should be able to defend themselves."

"Smart man, your father."

I looked away from Shane and Andrea, remembering my own father…

"_Margaret, why are you doing this?" My father asked, pacing after my mother in their bedroom. "Are you punishing me? Is this punishment for working such long hours-"_

"_Please, Trevor." My mother laughed dryly. "I hardly think that taking the kids to Georgia for the summer is punishment. You'll be able to work as late as you want without having to worry about me nagging you for working so much."_

"_Take the kids to Disney World for the summer." My father threw his arms up. "Take them all the way to Disney Land. I don't care…just…don't take them to Georgia."_

"_You're ridiculous." My mother snapped, shutting her suitcase._

"_Am I?" My father asked, blocking my mother from leaving the bedroom. "Why do you have such fond memories of a place like that?"_

"_Trevor, stop it." My mother commanded him quietly._

"_Why? What-"_

"_What are you doing, Roslyn?" My mother asked, a fake smile spreading across her face._

"Roslyn?"

"What?" I looked up, realizing that I had been staring off into space.

"The RV broke down." T-Dog said, pointing to the steam rising in front of the windshield.

"Shit." I muttered, standing up.

Everyone filed out of the RV, meeting the rest of the group as they got out of the Jeep.

"Problem, Dale?" Shane asked, scouting the area with his gun in hand.

"Just a small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of…" Dale's voice trailed off, and I followed his eyes to Daryl, who was picking through the trunk of an abandoned car. "Okay. That was dumb."

"I can siphon more fuel from these cars." T-Dog announced, heading off.

"I'll help you." I offered, tagging along behind him.

"This is a graveyard." Lori said suddenly, causing T-Dog and I to pause and turn around. "I don't know how I feel about this."

I thought back to Victoria's house. I remembered all of the things I took. I looked down at the gun in my hands, the one I didn't remember taking.

"Don't do that." Daryl said, bringing me out of my thoughts. He was pointing at me.

I nodded.

"Can you carry these, Roslyn?" T-Dog asked, coming up beside me with two gas cans.

"Sure." I replied, taking them.

I gave Daryl a weak smile before following T-Dog through the maze of cars. We were quite a bit ahead of everyone else by the time T-Dog stopped near a car. He kneeled down, taking his hose out so that he could siphon gas. I got one of the gas cans ready for him as he began to suck on one end of the hose. When he sputtered, I hurriedly handed over the can.

"What does that taste like?" I asked, wrinkling my nose.

"Sour. Bitter." T-Dog wiped off his mouth. "Disgusting."

"What do you think about Fort Benning?" I asked, leaning against the car.

"I don't know." T-Dog shrugged, looking up at me. "I mean, the CDC was supposed to be it."

"Yeah." I nodded, looking down at the ground.

As the can filled, T-Dog sealed it up. He handed it to me. I carried it carefully as we went looking for another car so that we could fill the second gas can. It was then that I noticed something was off. I couldn't see anybody. I looked around. Nobody was in sight. I couldn't hear anyone talking or anything.

"T-Dog…where is everybody?" I asked quietly.

"I don't know…damnit." T-Dog mumbled, grabbing my arm.

"What?" I asked, following his gaze. My eyes widened.

A large group of biters were coming in our direction. There were at least thirty or forty of them. I realized that the rest of the group must have been hiding.

"Oh my god." I breathed, setting down the empty can slowly.

"Get behind that car." T-Dog whispered, pointing to a red two door.

I did as he said, ducking behind the car. I used the hood as a shield, crouching on the ground. I looked over as T-Dog got down behind the passenger side door of a white car. It was thrown open. As he slid down next to the car, his arm was torn open by the jagged edge of the door. He gripped the wound as it began to spurt blood.

I abandoned the full gas can, crawling towards T-Dog. He tried to wave me away with his good arm, but I grabbed hold of his injured arm. I immediately tore off my zip up hoodie, using it as a makeshift tourniquet. I wrapped it around his wound, tying the hoodie tight.

"Come on." I hissed, grabbing T-Dog's hand.

We ran behind another car, pressing our backs against its underside. I turned towards T-Dog, wrapping my bloodied hands around his wound. Blood was already seeping through the hoodie.

"We have to keep going." I whispered. "Keep pressure on that."

T-Dog and I maneuvered through the cars, avoiding biters. I held onto T-Dog's good arm. The longer we walked, the more heavily he leaned on me. Finally, he just sank to the ground. I turned towards him, crouching down in front of him, as I pressed both of my hands into his wound.

"Roslyn…" T-Dog wheezed, his eyes widening.

I turned. There was a biter stumbling towards us. Remembering what happened at Victoria's, I tossed the gun onto T-Dog's lap. I pulled out my knife, ready to attack the biter.

Suddenly, I saw Daryl peek around the side of a car. His eyes were on the biter. Before I could blink, he had thrown my grandpa's crossbow onto the hood of a car and stabbed the biter in the back of the head with a knife he whipped out of nowhere.

When Daryl looked up at me, hovering over the dead biter, he put a finger to his lips. I nodded, slinking down beside T-Dog. I felt T-Dog's head loll against my shoulder, and realized that he was going unconscious. I looked up to Daryl for help, but he was already in action. He tugged on T-Dog's feet, pulling him flat on the ground. I wondered what he was doing as he pulled a dead biter over top of T-Dog. Then, he turned to the car beside him, pulling the dead driver out.

"Get in." He murmured, nodding to the car.

I reacted immediately, diving into the car. As I got settled, I felt a sudden weight on top of me. I looked up, flinching when I realized that Daryl had thrown the driver over me. I looked down at the ground, but Daryl was already lying next to T-Dog, covered by another dead biter. Just as all of that took place, the thirty or forty biters staggered past us. I held my breath.

We stayed that way for what seemed like years. Eventually, Daryl stirred beneath the biter. The moment he moved, my reflexes kicked in. I began to squirm beneath the biter. I didn't realize it right away, but I was making sounds that sounded like strangled sobs. Daryl leapt to his feet, his hands already on the driver on top of me.

"Calm down, girl." Daryl mumbled softly, pulling the body off of me.

I sat up, running my bloodied hands all over me as if that would help. Daryl caught my wrist, pulling me out of the car and onto my feet. He only held onto my arm for a second before he bent down, pulling the biter off of T-Dog. I got down on my knees beside T-Dog. His eyes were open. I helped him sit up and lean against the car.

"I'll go get some help." Daryl muttered breathlessly. "Stay here."

I looked up at him long enough to nod, and then turned my attention back to T-Dog. His eyes were still open, but his lids were heavy.

"Stay with me, T-Dog." I told him, keeping my hands firm on his bleeding injury.

Several minutes later, Dale emerged.

"Roslyn!" He called out to me, rushing over.

"He's lost a lot of blood." I said, looking up at Dale. "We have to get him back to the RV. Will you help me?"

"Of course." Dale quickly helped me get T-Dog on his feet. "We have a little problem."

"Worse than this?" I asked, guiding T-Dog back towards the RV, his arms around mine and Dale's shoulders. His feet were practically dragging on the ground.

"Sophia is missing." Dale replied, looking over at me.

"What? How did that happen?" I asked, meeting his gaze.

"Two walkers found her underneath a car. She ran into the woods, and they followed. Rick went after her, told her to stay put near a creek, but when he went back, she was gone. He, Shane, Daryl, and Glenn are out there looking for her." Dale explained.

"Oh my god." I breathed, beginning to tire.

As we got back to the RV, Andrea helped Dale and I get T-Dog onto the RV. We laid him down on the bed. From there, I was able to clean out T-Dog's wound with soap and water. When his wound was as clean as I could get it, I applied the butterfly bandages from Dale's first aid kit. T-Dog needed proper sutures, but the butterfly bandages had to do. I gave T-Dog two Ibuprofen from my duffel bag before I left him to rest for a while on the RV.

Glenn and Shane had returned.

"How is he?" Glenn asked, walking up to me when I climbed down the RV steps.

"He's better than he was before." I replied, running a hand through my hair.

"What's wrong?" Glenn asked worriedly.

"God knows what kind of bacteria was infested in that rusted door. Soap and water isn't going to clean the nasty stuff out of his wound. T-Dog needs to be stitched up with Ethilon. He needs to take serious antibiotics. Otherwise, he's going to get sick." I looked down at the ground. "He could die."

"Shit." Glenn whispered, kicking the ground.

"What's going on out here?" I asked, looking around at everyone.

"Daryl and Rick are still out there looking for Sophia." Glenn replied.

"Where is she?" I murmured, staring out at the trees.

0o0o0

The sun began to set, but Rick and Daryl still weren't back. T-Dog emerged from the RV, but I gave him strict instructions not to do any heavy lifting.

"Dale, how'd you come to be in possession of this fine recreational vehicle?" I asked the older man, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Well, my wife and I-"

"Where is my gun?" Andrea interrupted suddenly, stomping towards Dale. "You have no right to take it."

I looked awkwardly from Andrea to Dale before I took a few steps back.

"You don't need that just now, do you?" Dale asked.

"My father gave it to me. It's mine." Andrea snapped.

"I can hold onto it for you."

"Or you can give it back to me." Andrea's head was jerking from side to side as she spoke. She was angry.

Shane brushed past me towards Andrea and Dale.

"Is everything cool?" He asked calmly, hands in his pockets.

"No. I want my gun back." Andrea retorted, folding her arms over her chest with a huff.

"I don't think it's a good idea right now." Dale said, turning to look at Shane.

"Why not?" Shane asked.

"I'm not comfortable with it."

Andrea scoffed, turning to look at Shane.

"The truth is, less guns we have floating around camp the better." Shane said to Andrea, meeting her glare.

"You turning over your weapon?" Andrea asked smartly.

"No, but I'm trained to use it."

"What about her?" Andrea asked suddenly, pointing in my direction. "She has a gun."

Shane turned to look at me, his eyes falling on the gun tucked into my waistband.

"I've had this since before I met up with you guys." I muttered, running a hand over the butt of the gun.

"Well, you're part of this group now." Shane replied, turning completely towards me. "As a member of this group, you have to follow the rules. If Andrea can't have a gun, neither can you. You're just as inexperienced with guns as she is."

I sighed, taking the weapon out. I held it out to Shane, who took it from me.

"Thank you." He gave me a nod before handing the gun to Dale.

Andrea stalked off, mumbling to herself.

"Mind telling me what that's about?" Shane asked Dale.

"They're back." Glenn said suddenly, walking towards the guardrail.

I turned as Rick and Daryl came out of the woods and up towards the road. I was about to go to them, but Dale caught my arm.

"I'm sorry about that, Roslyn." He murmured apologetically. "I didn't mean for you to have your gun taken from you."

"That's okay, Dale. It's not your fault." I replied.

I walked towards the others, who were crowded around Rick and Daryl. The looks on everyone's faces were pretty grim.

"…but she's twelve. She can't be out there on her own." Carol was saying as I approached. "You didn't find anything?"

"I know this is hard, but I'm asking you not to panic." Rick told her calmly. "We know she was out there."

"And we tracked her for a while." Daryl spoke up, his voice as soft as Rick's.

"We have to make this an organized effort." Rick said, turning towards everyone. "Daryl knows the woods better than anybody. I've asked him to oversee this."

Carol sat down on the guardrail. Lori sat down at her side.

"How could you just leave her out there to begin with?" Carol asked, glaring up at Rick.

I was shocked. I wondered how Carol could blame Rick when Carol hadn't even gone after her daughter to begin with, nor had she volunteered to go out there looking afterward. If she wanted to blame someone for leaving her child alone, she should have blamed herself.

"Those two walkers were on us. I had to draw them off." Rick explained, bending down to look at Carol. "It was her best chance."

"How was she supposed to find her way back on her own? She's just a child."

"It was my only option. The only choice I could make." Rick pleaded.

I watched as Lori, Rick's wife, said nothing as Carol blamed _him_ for losing _her_ child.

"My little girl got left in the woods."

I watched as Rick stood up and walked away. I was still watching him when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at Daryl just as he placed one hand on my cheek.

"You okay?" He asked softly, petting my face.

"I'm all right." I replied.

I noticed out of the corner of my eye that most everyone was staring at us. Daryl noticed, and turned to see everyone watching us. He moved his hand from my face to the back of his neck. He looked down, and then furrowed his brow.

"Where's your gun?" He asked, meeting my eyes.

"Oh…Shane took it from me." I told him quietly.

"What?" Daryl asked, frowning instantly. He turned away from me. "Walsh, why'd you take Gardener's gun from her?"

"New policy." Shane replied with a shrug.

"New policy?" Daryl asked angrily. "What if she gets in trouble and doesn't have a gun?"

"As long as Roslyn stays with the group-"

"That's bullshit!" Daryl snarled, taking a step towards Shane.

"Daryl." I murmured, walking up beside him and gently grabbing his arm. "It's okay."

"It's not okay." Daryl snapped, glaring at me before turning his angry eyes on Shane. "Give her the gun back."

"Or what, Dixon?" Shane challenged, walking towards us.

"All right. That's enough." Dale said, stepping in between Shane and Daryl. "You both need to take a walk. It's been a long day and this isn't helping."

I looked up at Daryl. His jaw was clenched tight.

"To hell with you." Daryl grumbled, glaring at Shane for a moment more before stalking off.

I watched him walk away, but figured he needed his space. Lori was still with Carol, which baffled me. I decided to go and check on Rick. I saw him sitting on the hood of an abandoned car.

"Hey." I said softly, walking up to the car.

Rick turned to look at me, but then looked away.

"I'm sorry, Rick." I apologized quietly, leaning against the hood.

"Sorry? For what?" Rick asked.

"You were right." I told him, turning my head to look at him. "You did the right thing out in the woods. I mean…I remember when I was younger, and my grandma and I would go to the store. My grandma would always pick out a place at the store, and tell me that if I got lost, I should go there. That way, if I ever did get lost, my grandma and I would be able to find each other."

Rick nodded.

"I still don't understand why you're sorry."

"I should have said something." I sighed. "I should have stuck up for you when Carol was blaming you for Sophia being lost. I just…I hate confrontation. I avoid it if I can. Besides, I don't know these people very well, and-"

"You didn't have to say anything, Roslyn." Rick interrupted me softly.

"You're my friend." I replied, turning completely around. "I've only known you guys for a few days, but I can tell that you're a good man and a good leader. The least we can do is support you when you have to make tough decisions that none of us are able to make."

Rick pulled one side of his mouth into a pseudo smile.

"Thank you."

"Anyways, I just wanted to make sure that you were okay."

"I'll be all right." Rick assured me with a nod.

"I better go check on T-Dog." I started to walk away, but glanced back at Rick once more. "You should sleep well tonight. You have nothing to be ashamed of or feel guilty about."

"Goodnight, Roslyn." Rick murmured, looking away.

I went to check on T-Dog, who was reclined on the couch on the RV.

"How are you feeling?" I asked him, feeling his forehead. It felt normal.

"Fine." T-Dog insisted, shifting on the couch. "Don't worry about me."

"Oh, Theodore, how could I not?" I asked with a smile.

"Easy with that Theodore business." T-Dog groaned.

I got down on the floor, using my duffel bag as a pillow. T-Dog leaned over the side of the couch.

"What are you doing down there?" He asked.

"I was going to sleep down here, just in case you needed me." I told him, settling in.

"Christ, Roslyn, here." T-Dog reached over, pulling a folded blanket off of the couch. He threw it down on top of me.

"Thanks." I muttered, moving so that I could lay the blanket out beneath me.

"Night, Roslyn." T-Dog yawned, turning over.

"Goodnight, _Theodore_." I replied sweetly, chuckling when T-Dog groaned again.

0o0o0

In the morning, I woke up with my arms wrapped around myself. When I opened my eyes, I realized that I was covered in something. I moved to get a better look, and immediately recognized Daryl's leather vest. I looked around for any sign of Daryl, but he was nowhere to be found. T-Dog was still sleeping on the couch. I could hear Andrea snoring softly in the back.

I got up off the floor, folding Daryl's vest over my arm as I climbed out of the RV.

"Good morning, Roslyn."

I turned and looked up at Rick, who waved when our eyes met.

"Good morning, Sheriff." I replied with a smile. "Morning, Shane."

"Morning." Shane gave me a nod.

"What's the plan for today?" I asked, blocking the rising sun from my eyes.

Rick moved for the ladder after murmuring to Shane. He climbed down. I met him halfway.

"Shane and I are taking a group into the woods to pick up Sophia's trail." Rick explained, his hands on his hips. "Dale is going to stay behind with the RV, and with T-Dog. I was hoping that you would be all right with staying behind too."

"That's probably for the best." I nodded in agreement.

"Good." Rick waved. "Come with me."

I followed Rick back over to the RV entrance. He went inside for a moment, and returned with my gun. He handed it over to me.

"Since you'll be staying behind." He explained when I gave him a questioning look.

"Thank you." I replied, tucking the gun into my waistband.

"You be careful with that." Shane said suddenly from the RV roof. "We don't need you drawing any unwanted attention with a gunshot."

"I won't fire it unless I have to."

"I know." Rick said, giving me a nod. "We _all_ have to be careful."

Within the next few minutes, most everyone was stirring. Lori, Carol, and Carl emerged from the Jeep. Dale and Glenn wandered up from wherever they had spent the night. Andrea and T-Dog came down out of the RV.

"What is that?" Lori asked curiously, motioning to Daryl's vest.

"It's Daryl's vest." I told her, showing her the wings stitched on the back.

"Were you…cleaning it for him?" Lori asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No. He lent it to me last night." I replied.

"Oh." She said simply, giving me a strange look before she joined her husband.

I spotted Daryl coming out of the woods. I met him at the guardrail.

"Were your ears burning?" I asked with a smile.

"Huh?" He asked, squinting at me.

"Nothing." I shook my head, holding his vest out to him. "Thank you for letting me use this."

Daryl looked down at the vest before glancing back up at me.

"Why don't you hang onto it today?" He asked with a shrug.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah." He replied, stepping over the guardrail. "I see you got your gun back."

"Was that your doing?" I asked, grinning up at him as we walked over to the group.

Daryl shrugged again, but gave me a quick wink as I slipped on his vest.

"Everybody takes a weapon." Rick said to everyone, referring to the several hunting knives that were rolled out on the hood of the Jeep.

"These aren't the kind of weapons we need." Andrea retorted. "What about the guns?"

"We've been over that." Shane replied. "Daryl, Rick, and I are carrying. We can't have people popping off rounds every time a tree rustles."

"It's not the trees I'm worried about." Andrea argued, glaring at Shane.

"Say somebody fires at the wrong moment. A herd happens to be passing by. See, then it's game over for all of us." Shane put his backpack on. "So you need to get over it."

Andrea seethed silently. Our eyes met unintentionally, and it only took her a second to see the gun at my waist. I thought she was going to say something, but she kept her mouth shut. She continued to glare at me, but I just avoided her gaze as I listened to Daryl.

"The idea is to take the creek up about five miles, turn around, and come back down the other side. Chances are she'll be by the creek. It's her only landmark." Daryl said, my grandpa's crossbow over his shoulder.

"Stay quiet and stay sharp. Keep space between you, but always stay within sight of each other." Rick said as Daryl walked past him.

"Everybody, assemble your packs." Shane instructed, gathering supplies.

As everyone dispersed, I walked over to Glenn. He was holding an impressive machete.

"What do you plan on doing with that?" I asked with a laugh, watching Glenn admire the weapon.

"I'm going to kill some walkers with this bad boy." Glenn replied, sliding his fingers over it.

"Be careful out there." I said with a smile, but I was serious. Glenn and T-Dog were my closest friends in the group, other than Daryl, and T-Dog was already wounded. I didn't want anything to happen to Glenn too.

"I will." Glenn promised, pulling his pack on. "Take care of T-Dog."

"You mean Theodore?" I asked with a grin.

"That's definitely what I meant." Glenn laughed, adjusting his ball cap. He suddenly gave me a hug, but I returned it quickly. "Take care of yourself too."

"I will." I replied, pulling away from Glenn.

"Short Round, go and find something to pack." Daryl said suddenly, appearing beside us.

"Yeah. Sure." Glenn mumbled, rolling his eyes before heading off with his pack and machete.

"You're mean." I told Daryl, folding my arms over my chest.

"You used to say I was nice." Daryl replied with a smirk.

"Well, you're nice to me."

"I got this for you." Daryl said, holding up a small knife with a serrated edge. "It's an Epic knife."

"It _is_ an epic knife." I replied, reaching out to take the knife from Daryl. I stopped when he began to laugh harder than I had ever heard him laugh before. Even though I didn't know what he was laughing about, it made me smile. I didn't even care that people were staring.

"It's _called_ an Epic knife." Daryl corrected me, his laughter dying down to a quiet chuckle.

"Oh." I mumbled, embarrassed. "I thought it was a Gerber."

Daryl raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"It is." Daryl extended the knife to me again. "How'd you know that?"

"I told you that my grandpa was an avid hunter." I said, taking the knife. "He loved Gerber."

I tucked the small knife in with the hunting knife Daryl had given me before. I had a nice little arsenal going on in my waistband.

"Damn, this looks good on you, girl." Daryl murmured, running his fingers along the vest.

"Thanks." I replied quietly, watching Daryl's face as he touched the soft leather.

"Keep it safe for me, will you?" Daryl asked, taking his fingers off the vest. I thought he was going to touch my face again, but he settled for tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

"I will." I promised, looking up into his blue eyes.

"Just in case I don't see you again." Daryl murmured, repeating the words I had said to him the night he left me in the nursing home parking lot.

I was surprised when Daryl started to lean down towards me. He had only initiated a kiss when he'd spent the night at my grandparents' house. Whenever he would show me any kind of friendly affection in front of the others, he seemed embarrassed. Though there were people milling around not far from where we stood, Daryl was going to kiss me. His eyes were on mine as his face came closer. I wrapped an arm around his neck as his lips barely brushed mine.

"No, Dale, you're doing it for you." Andrea suddenly snapped loudly.

Daryl growled in unison with my annoyed sigh. We pulled away from each other, turning around to see what Andrea was getting angry about. I should have guessed that it had something to do with the guns.

"You need to stop. What do you think's gonna happen? I'm gonna stick it in my mouth and pull the trigger the moment you hand it to me?" Andrea asked angrily.

It all made sense to me, why Dale was so adamant about hanging onto Andrea's gun. He wasn't worried about her drawing biters with a gunshot. He was afraid that she was going to kill herself. I couldn't help but feel sympathy for poor Dale. If things were the way they used to be, Andrea would be hospitalized and put on suicide watch. Dale was just doing what he thought was right. He obviously cared deeply for Andrea.

"I know you're angry at me. That much is clear, but if I hadn't done what I did, you'd be dead now."

"Jenner gave us an option. I chose to stay."

"You chose suicide."

"So what's that to you? You barely know me."

"I know Amy's death devastated you."

"Keep her out of this. This is not about Amy. This is about us, and if I decided that I had nothing left to live for, who the hell are you to tell me otherwise? To force my hand like that."

"I saved your life."

"No, Dale. I saved yours. You forced that on me. I didn't want your blood on my hands, and that is the only reason I left that building. What did you expect? What, I'd have some kind of epiphany, some life affirming catharsis?"

"Maybe just a little gratitude."

"Gratitude? I wanted to die my way, not torn apart by drooling freaks. That was my choice. You took that away from me, Dale."

"But-"

"But, you know better? All I wanted after my sister died was to get out of this endless, horrific nightmare we live every day. I wasn't hurting anyone else. You took my choice away, Dale, and you expect gratitude?"

"I don't know what to say."

Everyone around us was watching the confrontation.

"I'm not your little girl. I'm not your wife, and I'm sure as hell not your problem. That's all there is to say."

Daryl gave out a low whistle from beside me.

"Damn." He mumbled.

I watched Andrea stomp away from Dale, who was visibly flabbergasted.

"I gotta go." Daryl said, adjusting his pack.

"Be careful." I told him as he started to walk away.

Daryl gave me a wave over his shoulder as he and the others disappeared over the guardrail and into the woods to search for Sophia.

0o0o0

I left Dale alone while he stood watch on the roof of the RV. T-Dog sat on the steps of the RV while I searched through my duffel bag. I had a few canned goods inside. I chose a can of peaches and a can of pineapple from my bag, setting them on the ground while I fished out the can opener.

"Which do you prefer?" I asked T-Dog, motioning to the cans.

"Do you even have to ask?" T-Dog asked, raising an eyebrow. "Peaches, Roslyn, peaches."

"Okay." I laughed, opening the can of peaches. "Do you have a fork or something?"

"I don't need a damn fork." T-Dog replied, accepting the can when I handed it to him.

"Well, all right then." I looked up at Dale as he surveyed the area. "Dale?"

"No thank you, Roslyn." Dale said without looking down.

"How are you feeling?" I asked T-Dog, settling down in the shade with the can of pineapple.

"I told you I was fine." T-Dog insisted with a mouthful of peaches.

"I'm just making sure." I pulled out a piece of pineapple with my fingers. "Glenn would use that machete on me if he came back and you were dead."

T-Dog chuckled.

"So…how did you know Loretta?" I asked, realizing the moment I ate a piece of pineapple that I hadn't eaten anything since the previous morning.

T-Dog began to laugh, picking through the can in his hand.

"Uh…I changed her locks." T-Dog finally said.

"That's it?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

T-Dog looked up at me with a crooked smile.

"Oh my god." I shook my head, concentrating on my pineapple. "I don't want to hear about it."

"Come to think of it…I had to change her locks a few times-"

"Shut up!" I exclaimed, quickly getting to my feet.

"What's wrong, Roslyn?" T-Dog asked me innocently, drinking the juice from the can.

"I'm going to see if I can find any stronger medicine in any of these cars." I muttered, leaving T-Dog to sit by himself on the steps. "I need to find something to flush that image out of my head."

T-Dog started laughing as I walked off on my own.

I looked through a few vehicles for any kind of medicine that could be useful to T-Dog. I was hoping that by some miracle, he wouldn't get sick. If he did, he would need antibiotics to fight the infection. Ibuprofen wasn't going to cut it. I was still searching when I heard a gunshot in the distance. Alarmed by the sound, I quickly headed back to the RV.

"Guys?" I asked, approaching T-Dog and Dale. "Did you hear that?"

Dale looked up at me. He looked concerned. T-Dog looked dazed.

"What's wrong?" I asked quickly, walking over to T-Dog.

"Look at his veins." Dale pointed to T-Dog's injured arm. His veins were discolored.

"Oh my god." I murmured, reaching for T-Dog's arm.

"Don't touch it." He gently shoved my hands away. "It hurts."

"I was just telling T-Dog that we need to look for some antibiotics, some Ampicillin…anything stronger than Ibuprofen." Dale said, looking around.

"T-Dog, stay here. Stay in the shade." I instructed him. "Dale and I will go."

"I'll set you up with one of those jugs of water Shane found." Dale said, heading to go get one.

"Until we get back, you need to take two capsules every two hours and drink as much water as you can." I told T-Dog, guiding him to the shade of the RV. "If you start to feel feverish, you need to go inside and lie down."

"This is ridiculous, isn't it?" T-Dog chuckled, leaning against the RV.

"You're going to be okay." I reassured T-Dog, setting a hand on his shoulder.

When Dale returned, dragging the water, we left T-Dog while we went to scout for medicine. We walked in silence for a while, searching through trunks and gloveboxes.

"Andrea shouldn't be mad at you." I finally said, digging through a suitcase.

"What?" Dale asked, leaning back so that we could see each other.

"I don't think Andrea should be mad at you." I repeated, standing up. "She's lucky to have someone that cares about her as much as you do. She should be grateful that, in all of this destruction and devastation, she was able to find someone who would have died alongside her because he cared that much."

"Andrea…she's a tough cookie." Dale sighed, leaning against the car. "She and her sister were complete opposites. They were born twelve years apart, for heaven's sake. Amy was always the softer, more gentler of the two."

"Twelve years apart?" I asked, bending down to rummage through the suitcase again. "They still managed to be close?"

"Andrea said they weren't before all of this." Dale replied.

"I guess a thing like this brings people closer together." I murmured, abandoning the suitcase.

Dale and I moved on to another car.

"Speaking of which," Dale said as he rummaged through the glovebox, "I meant to ask you about your relationship with Daryl."

"Oh my goodness." I sighed, opening the trunk. "Have Glenn and T-Dog been shooting their mouths off?"

"They don't have to." Dale glanced up at me with a smile.

I pulled a machete out of the trunk. It wasn't as impressive looking as Glenn's, but it would do. I held it up for Dale's approval, and he nodded.

"Daryl and I met just a few days before Georgia went to hell." I said finally, standing next to Dale. "We're friends."

"Friends?" Dale stood up, raising an eyebrow at me. "I would have guessed that you two were…well…an item."

"No." I shrugged. "We're…_good_ friends."

"I see." Dale laughed, motioning for me to walk with him. "I don't think you realize just how different Daryl is towards you than he is the rest of us."

"No. I do." I assured Dale as we walked. "I figured it was because we knew each other before all of this. Besides, Glenn mentioned that something happened to Merle…"

"Yes." Dale sighed.

"Look at that." I pointed at a perfectly good guitar in the backseat of a nearby car.

"Do you play?" Dale asked, opening the car door.

"No, but does anyone else in the group?" I asked, leaning on the car.

"Not that I know of." Dale pulled the guitar out anyways. "Maybe Glenn plays."

"Maybe he does." I ran my hand over the guitar for a moment. "I think that would be nice."

"I agree." Dale nodded.

"I can't believe we still haven't found anything for T-Dog." I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "We should probably head back. I'm worried about him."

"I am too." Dale glanced back in the direction of the RV. "He was acting strangely before."

Dale and I headed back to the RV. I was surprised to find T-Dog smoking in the shade.

"Where did you find those?" I asked, setting down the machete I found.

"I looked for a little while." T-Dog replied, smoke escaping his mouth.

"You really shouldn't do that." I scolded him.

"I'm already fucked," T-Dog looked up at me, "what's this going to hurt?"

"Don't say that." I said, sitting down next to T-Dog.

"Did you find any medicine?" Dale asked, sitting on the other side of T-Dog.

"Just these." T-Dog held up his cigarette.

"We didn't find anything either." I said quietly, leaning back against the RV.

"What are we doing?" T-Dog asked suddenly.

"Pulling supplies together." Dale replied, looking off into the distance.

"No. I mean, what are we doing?" T-Dog asked, turning his head to look at Dale. "People off in the woods. They're off looking for that poor girl, and we're here. Why?"

"You're sick." I answered, looking over at the back of T-Dog's head. "I stayed behind in case you-"

"It's 'cause they think we're the weakest." T-Dog interrupted, turning his head to look at me. He turned back to Dale. "What are you, seventy?"

"Sixty four." Dale muttered.

"I'm the only black guy." T-Dog exhaled a plume of smoke. "They probably figured they had enough ladies in this group, and that one less wouldn't matter."

I was taken aback.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Dale asked, sounding as shocked as me.

"I'm talking about two, good old boy sheriffs and a redneck whose brother cut off his own and because I dropped a key." T-Dog replied, leaning closer to Dale.

"Roslyn, go and get a cool rag for T-Dog." Dale said suddenly, leaning around T-Dog.

"What-"

"Please?" Dale asked, stressing with his eyes.

"…okay." I mumbled, getting up off the ground.

I went inside of the RV to find a rag. By the time I located one, I heard T-Dog shouting. I hurriedly went out with the rag, watching as T-Dog yelled at Dale.

"Look where we are! Stuck in this mess here!" T-Dog shouted angrily while Dale tried to shoosh him.

I used the jug of water to dampen the rag.

"Let's go. Let's just go." T-Dog mumbled, holding his head.

I walked over to T-Dog, pressing my hand to his sweaty forehead. His skin was hot beneath my hand, even in the Georgian summer air. I pulled my hand away, slapping the wet rag over his skin.

"You have a fever." I told him.

Dale was already shaking Ibuprofen into his hand. He handed it to T-Dog, who swallowed them.

"You need to drink more water." I said, pointing to the jug. "We have to get that fever down."

"Where the hell are they?" Dale muttered, looking out at the trees.

0o0o0

T-Dog's fever only got worse as the day dragged on. He sat in the shade, wrapped in a blanket, holding a wet rag to his head. Dale and I kept giving him Ibuprofen, but it wasn't helping. T-Dog had an infection. He needed serious antibiotics and he needed to be stitched up.

Dale and I kept vigilant watch over the woods, waiting for the group to return. As the sun was getting ready to set, the group finally staggered out of the woods. Glenn was the first one to climb over the guardrail.

"Carl got shot." He announced.

"Shot? What do you mean shot?" Dale asked worriedly.

"I don't know, Dale. I wasn't there." Glenn replied tiredly. "All I know is this chick rode in out of nowhere like Zorro on a horse and took Lori."

I went over to the pillowcase of stuff Dale and I had collected. I retrieved a few water bottles, carrying them over to the guardrail as everyone climbed over. I handed the first one to Glenn.

"Thanks." He sighed, taking a long drink.

"You let her go?" Dale asked, turning towards Daryl.

"Climb down out of my asshole, man." Daryl retorted, brushing past him. "Rick sent her. She knew Lori's name and Carl's."

"Here." I said, holding a bottle of water out to Daryl.

Daryl took it, taking a drink before splashing a good amount onto his dirty face.

"Everything good here?" Daryl asked, giving me a once over.

"I'm fine." I motioned to T-Dog, who was sitting near the RV. "T-Dog is sick. He needs antibiotics or else the infection is going to kill him."

"Antibiotics?" Daryl asked, holding out his bottle of water to me.

"Yeah…why?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as he went over to Merle's bike. He threw aside some rags Dale had set on the seat, producing a plastic bag full of orange prescription bottles. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw Daryl rummaging through them. "Seriously?"

"Merle never left home with them." Daryl replied, holding out a bottle to me. "These should do it."

"Thank you." I said, taking the bottle. "This will buy us time until we can stitch him up."

Daryl gave me a nod before I took the pills to T-Dog, who took them gratefully. When he was settled, I passed out water bottles to Carol and Andrea. Everyone took a few minutes to relax before we all came together as the sun disappeared behind the trees.

"We can't just leave." Carol said quickly, before anyone could speak.

"Carol, the group is split. We're scattered and weak." Dale replied, leaning against the RV.

"What if she comes back and we're not here?"

"If Sophia found her way back, and we were gone, that would be awful." Andrea said, looking over at Dale.

"Okay." Daryl nodded vigorously. "We got to plan for this. I say tomorrow morning is soon enough to pull up the stakes, give us a chance to rig a big sign, leave her some supplies. I'll hold here tonight, stay here with the RV."

"If the RV is staying, I am too." Dale said immediately.

"Thank you." Carol said, looking between them. "Thank you both."

It was the first time I had heard a truly grateful and kind word out of her mouth. I smiled.

"I'm in." Andrea raised a hand.

"T-Dog has to get to that farm." I said, everyone's eyes falling on me. "The antibiotics Daryl gave me are great, but T-Dog needs to be stitched up. Otherwise, he'll keep getting sick."

"Glenn." Dale turned towards Glenn.

"Me? Why me?" Glenn asked, pointing to himself.

"You know where the farm is." Dale said, motioning to me. "Besides, I don't feel comfortable with Roslyn traveling alone with T-Dog while he's sick. What if something happened?"

Had I been Andrea, I might have gotten mad at Dale. Instead, I was touched that he thought of me and my well being.

"All right." Glenn sighed.

"It's settled." Dale leaned away from the RV. "Let's get T-Dog into the Jeep."

Glenn went to start up the Jeep, while the others went to help T-Dog.

"I see you kept that safe for me." Daryl said, nodding towards his vest.

"I told you I would." I replied, walking towards him. "Are you okay? Were you hurt at all?"

"Nah." Daryl shook his head.

"So…you guys will meet us at the farm tomorrow?" I asked, looking up at Daryl.

"Tomorrow morning." He nodded.

"Good." I smiled. "I'm going to hang onto your vest until then."

"Why?" Daryl asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Collateral." I replied, watching his lips pull into a grin.

"That's fine with me." Daryl shrugged. "I told you it looked good on you, Gardener."

"You did."

"I think it looks better on you than it does on me." Daryl admitted, his blue eyes flickering down.

I was about to say something sarcastic, but felt Daryl's hands sliding slowly down my waist. They came to rest on my hips. I looked down for a moment, feeling no anger when I saw that his hands left streaks of dirt on my tank top, and when I looked back up, he was inches from my face. I gasped quietly, surprised by the closeness.

"Since we were interrupted before." Daryl murmured.

I closed my eyes, anticipating his lips.

"Roslyn!"

"God_damnit_!" Daryl snarled, ripping himself away from me to see who had disturbed us. "What do you want, shrimp fried-"

"Daryl." I interrupted, grabbing his wrist before he could finish his insult.

"We're ready to go!" Glenn called.

"To be continued…some other time?" I asked, trying to put a smile back on Daryl's face.

"We'll see." Daryl rolled his eyes, and I knew he was referring to the interruptions. "It was better at the damn CDC."

I nodded in agreement before turning to go. Daryl caught my wrist, causing me to turn.

"Keep that vest intact for me, all right?" He asked, his face serious.

"I will." I told him, wondering why he was always so concerned with his vest.

When Daryl let go of me, I headed towards the Jeep. Along the way, I scooped up my duffel bag. As I was about to get into the Jeep, Dale pulled me aside for a moment.

"I'm sorry about that." Dale subtly nodded in Daryl's direction.

"It's okay." I shrugged. "He'll get over it."

"I hope so. Otherwise, it's us who have to deal with him."

"See you tomorrow, Dale." I laughed, opening the door.

"Stay safe, Roslyn." Dale said, shutting the door behind me. "Stay safe."

"Sorry to interrupt your moment with Daryl." Glenn said, looking at me in the rearview mirror with an amused expression.

"Sorry that T-Dog and I cramp your style." I fired back, buckling in. "I thought you were going to throw a tantrum when Dale told you that you had to come with us to the farm."

T-Dog chuckled from the front seat.


	6. Shakin'

_When You Say Nothing At All_

**Shakin'**

**Author's Note: **Hi, everyone. I hope you're all enjoying the story. In this chapter, I'm taking a crack at Daryl's POV. I don't think Daryl is stupid. I think he's a lot smarter than people think he is. I think he's smarter than _he_ thinks he is. Obviously, though, he doesn't speak or think the same way as Roslyn. I tried to make the contrast dramatic so that it didn't sound like Roslyn's POV with different pronouns.

Enjoy.

**FanFicGirl10: **Haha. I know. I'd be ticked at Glenn if he kept interrupting my sexy time with Daryl. I hate Andrea and Lori too. You know Lori. She's Miss Queen Bee. She has to have her nose in everyone's business and voice her opinions about everything.

**Lorem tenebrae: **I really wanted Roslyn to form close friendships with at least one person in the group since my other OC, Cheyenne, never really did that. I figured that Roslyn and T-Dog would have a connection through their obvious empathy for the elderly, and a friendship would bloom from there. And of course, more intimacy with Daryl is always a good thing.

**BlackRose851: **Thank you very much! I'm glad you like it.

**Guest: **Thank you! I'm glad that you like Daryl and Roslyn together. I hope you continue reading.

**zansbitch1: **I know! It's hard to find alone time in their situation, but I think I'll give it to them…

**miranda harris 75: **I would have just been like, "Daryl, we're kissing. No matter what." Hahaha.

**VeritasKym: **Personally, I don't like Lori. It's not because of what happened with her sleeping with Shane. She honestly thought Rick was dead. She was vulnerable and looking for some comfort. Shane is clearly the scumbag in that situation. I don't like Lori because a) she has a bad attitude most of the time, b) is a hypocrite, c) is part of the reason that Shane ultimately 'went crazy' because she fed into his love for her, and d) reacted horribly at the end of Season 2 when Rick revealed to her that he had killed Shane and that they were all infected. However, Lori didn't bother me in Season 3. In fact, I think she redeemed herself somewhat when she died. I remember watching that episode with my husband, and both of us had the same reaction: had Lori been that way from the beginning, we both would have liked her. I completely agree with you about Carol. I can't stand her _and_ I can't stand that they're trying to get her into a romantic relationship with Daryl. It's skeeves me the hell out. SPOILER ALERT: When Daryl left in the premiere the other night, and Carol found out, I was like, "Yeah, bitch. That's how much Daryl cares about you. Hahahahahahaha!" Well, I think I'm guilty of ranting too. Thanks for the review, girl!

**Leyshla Gisel: **I like their friendship too. Glenn is such a little cockblock, but I love him all the same.

0o0o0

I couldn't sleep. Not with Carol cryin' in the back of the RV and Andrea fumblin' with the pieces of my dissembled gun at the table. I tossed and turned on the floor until I couldn't stand it anymore. I got up off the floor, grabbin' my things and assemblin' them.

"I need my clip now." I said, holdin' out my hand for the magazine. "I'm gonna walk the road, look for the little girl."

When I turned around, Carol was lookin' at me. She wiped her eyes.

I got out of the RV, shinin' my flashlight into the woods. I wasn't surprised when I saw another beam of light comin' from behind me.

"I'm coming too." Andrea said, shuttin' the door behind her.

I saw the old man lookin' down at us, like he was wonderin' where we were goin'.

"I'm goin' for a walk, shine some light in the forest." I told the old man. "If she's out there, give her somethin' to look at."

I started walkin'.

"You think that's a good idea right now?" The old man asked.

"Dale." Andrea said, rollin' her eyes up at him.

When Andrea pushed past me, I shared a look with the old man before followin' her into the woods. We were real quiet for a long time. I would've rather been by myself, for selfish reasons. I knew four eyes were better than two when scoutin', so I didn't stop Andrea from comin' with me. I would've rather had Rick with me, or even Roslyn. She was all right. She wasn't like other girls I'd known before the world went to shit. She didn't look down on me. She didn't think I was trash. She thought I was nice. She wanted to be my friend, wasn't ashamed of me.

When I left the urgent care place with my brother, I didn't think I'd see Roslyn again. Seein' her at the hospital after Merle's one night stand overdosed was a surprise. I'd been real shocked when she helped me out after I messed up the drunk prick's wrist. I'd expected her to keep her mouth shut, since that's what anyone else would've done, but she didn't.

When Merle found out that I took his lady friend to the hospital, we scuffled. I could've stitched myself up at home, but remembered Roslyn volunteered at the hospital. I decided to go in, see if she was volunteerin', figured maybe I could see her again. She was interestin'. Sure as shit, she was there. She was real nice to me, even when it was Merle's and my fault she got fired from Urgent Care. Then, she didn't even charge me for the stitches. The girl kept surprisin' me.

I'd stuck around for a smoke, and couldn't help overhearin' her stick up for me inside. I wondered why she did it, why she spoke up for someone like me. The nurse told her I was a bad guy, but Roslyn still stood by me. She even quit. I heard her do it. That's when I decided to wait for her.

I knew Roslyn was pretty, but I didn't know how good lookin' she really was until I saw her for the first time without her scrubs on and with her hair down. She was the prettiest girl I'd ever seen.

"Do you think we'll find her?" Andrea asked suddenly, her voice loud in the quiet.

"Yeah." I said, shinin' my flashlight at her. "You?"

She didn't have to say anything. I could tell by the look on her face that she didn't.

"What the hell's wrong with you people?" I asked, movin' the light away from her. "We just started lookin'. These ain't the mountains of Tibet. It's Georgia. She could be holed up in a farmhouse somewhere. People get lost and they survive. It happens all the time."

"She's twelve." Andrea said.

"Hell, I was younger than her when I got lost. Nine days in the woods eatin' berries, wipin' my ass with poison oak." I said, flickin' the light through the trees.

"They found you?"

"My old man was off on a bender with some waitress. Merle was doin' another stint in juvie, didn't even know I was gone." I looked over at Andrea. "I made my way back though. Went straight into the kitchen and made myself a sandwich. No worse for wear, except my ass itched somethin' awful."

Andrea started to laugh, which surprised me.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. That is a terrible story." Andrea said, tryin' not to laugh anymore.

"Only difference is Sophia's got people lookin' for her. I call that an advantage."

It got quiet again for a little while.

"Can I ask you something?" Andrea asked.

"What?" I asked, payin' more attention to the woods around me.

"What's going on with you and Roslyn?"

I looked over at Andrea. She was starin' at me.

"Nothin'." I said, lookin' away.

"What do you mean nothing?" Andrea asked. "Do you mean nothing as in 'nothing worth mentioning' or as in 'nothing serious' or as in-"

"None of your business." I muttered, moving my light around.

"That's definitely not nothing." Andrea mumbled.

"You should shut up." I said, turning to look at her. "This is search and rescue, not questions and answers."

Then, it was quiet for a long time. As we got deeper into the woods, I heard a rustlin'. I aimed my crossbow in the direction of the sound, slowly stalking towards it. Andrea was right behind me. As the sound got louder, we found a campsite. I shined my flashlight at the tent just as the rustlin' started again. That's when I saw it, and aimed the light at it. There was a damn walker hangin' in the tree.

"What the hell?" I mumbled, aiming my crossbow at it.

The walker started actin' like it was gonna do something. It started grabbin' at Andrea and I. When I got close to it, I saw a note tacked to the tree.

"'Got bit. Fever hit. World gone to shit. Might as well quit.'" I read aloud. "Dumbass didn't know enough to shoot himself in the head. Turned himself into a big, swingin' piece of bait, and a mess."

I heard Andrea sputterin' behind me.

"You all right?" I asked.

"Trying not to puke." Andrea groaned.

"Go ahead if you gotta." I mumbled, watchin' the walker go nuts.

"No, I'm fine. Let's just talk about something else for a minute. How'd you learn to shoot?"

"Gotta eat." I said, starin' up at the hangin' walker. "That's one thing these walkers and us have in common. I guess it's the closest he's been to food since he turned, hangin' up there like a big piñata. The other geeks came and all the flesh off his legs."

I heard Andrea pukin' behind me, and turned to look at her.

"I thought we were changing the subject." She coughed.

"Call that payback for laughin' about my itchy ass." I muttered, turnin' back to the tree.

We had been lookin' for a while. We had to get some kind of sleep.

"Let's head back." I said, walkin' away.

"Aren't you gonna…?" Andrea pointed her light at the hangin' walker.

"No." I looked at her. "He ain't hurtin' nobody, ain't gonna waste an arrow either."

I watched Andrea when she went closer to the tree. She was starin' up at the walker, shinin' her light on it while it tried to get at her. For some reason, I thought about Roslyn. I thought about what she had said to me about people not helpin' other people. I knew that if she was there with me, she'd want me to put the damn thing out of its misery.

I aimed at the walker's head as it grabbed at Andrea. She gasped when the arrow hit it. She spun around to look at me.

"Had a change of heart." I mumbled. "Let's go."

When we got back to the RV, I took over watch. I paced the roof, thinkin' about Roslyn. I couldn't help it. It seemed like whenever I had a quiet moment, I thought about her. Since we wasn't together, I wondered what she was doin' and if she got to the farm okay. I wondered if she was sleepin' in a nice, comfy bed for the night. I thought that'd be nice for her.

I didn't know why I kissed Roslyn that night at her grandparents' place. Truth be told, I wasn't my brother. I didn't nail every girl that crossed my path. That was why I'd never had an STD, but Merle'd had so goddamn many. Anyways, Roslyn just looked so pretty and was so nice to me, I'd figured she was too good to be true. I'd take a chance while I still had a chance, before Roslyn came to her senses about me.

I heard someone comin' up the ladder, and turned as the old man climbed up.

"What're you doin' up here?" I asked.

"I'm taking over for you." The old man said, standin' up. "It's been two hours."

"Shit." I mumbled.

I hadn't realized that much time had passed since takin' over for watch.

"You should get some sleep." The old man said.

"I'm fine." I said, settlin' down on the roof of the RV.

I heard the old man sit down next to me, and turned to look at him for a second.

"I spent a lot of time with Roslyn today…well, yesterday." The old man said, lookin' at me. "She's a very kind, caring young woman."

"Mhmm." I agreed, lookin' out at the trees.

"She and I talked about you a little bit." The old man shifted next to me. "She said you two are good friends."

"Does this conversation have a point?" I asked, glarin' over at the old man.

"I just think it's nice." The old man shrugged. "I think it's good for you both."

"Is that right?" I asked, rollin' my eyes as I looked back out at the woods.

"Well, it has to be pretty hard for Roslyn to join a group of people she's never met. We've all been together for quite a while. We've formed a bond of sorts. I'm sure she felt a little funny about that," I could feel the old man starin' at me again, "but she has you."

"Why are you people obsessed with my relationship with Roslyn?" I asked, turning to look at the old man again. He was smilin'. "What?"

"Nothing." The old man shook his head.

"I'm goin' to get some sleep." I muttered, gettin' up from the roof. "Keep your eyes peeled and your mouth shut, old man."

"Goodnight, Daryl."

0o0o0

_It was mayhem in the nursing home when I got there. I clutched the crossbow I'd just taken from Roslyn's grandparents' place, headin' for the front desk. I passed by people in scrubs rushin' old people out of the buildin'. There was no one at the front desk._

_ "Hey!" I shouted at some girl in scrubs. "Where's Rhett Gardener?"_

_ "In his room." She said, rollin' an old lady past me. I caught her elbow. "Hey!"_

_ "Which room is his?" I asked, narrowin' my eyes at the rude bitch._

_ "This hall." The girl pointed. "Third door on the right."_

_ I let go of the girl and jogged towards the door._

_ "We gotta go, Gramps." I said, bustin' through the door. "Let's go."_

_ "Dennis?" The old man in the bed asked, lookin' at me. "What's going on, Dennis?"_

_ "Dennis?" I raised an eyebrow._

_ "Where's your sister? Where's Rosy?" The old man asked, clutchin' his blankets._

_ I remembered Roslyn tellin' me her grandpa's mind was pretty far gone, and that she had an older brother. I figured the old man thought I was Roslyn's older brother._

_ "She's workin' tonight, Gramps." I said, openin' the door. "Stay put. I'll be right back."_

_ I left the room and hurried for the exit. As I got outside, I saw the shuttle pullin' out of the parkin' lot. The girl I had seen before was sittin' by one of the windows. They were leavin' without Roslyn's grandpa._

_ "Hey!" I shouted, sprintin' after the shuttle. "Wait! Wait up, you sons of bitches!"_

In the mornin', after we left a message and supplies for Sophia, we got a move on to the farm. I realized when I got on Merle's bike that I was shakin'. I stared at my hands, wonderin' why I was so jumpy. I chalked it up to not gettin' enough sleep, and rode ahead of the SUV and RV. Even as I was riding the motorcycle, I was aware of my whole body shakin'. It wasn't the rumblin' of the bike under me. I was beginnin' to get annoyed. I decided to go to sleep earlier than usual to avoid tremblin' like a leaf in the mornin'.

As I pulled up to the farm, I saw people comin' out of the house. Rick and Lori were standin' at the bottom of the steps. An old man, even older than Dale, was standin' with a young girl and boy. A woman older than Lori was on the front porch with T-Dog. I pulled up to the house and turned off the bike, makin' sure it was sturdy before I left it. I looked around. Glenn was standin' with the girl from the day before, the one who rode the horse. Shane was off bein' a creep in the background.

Then I saw her. She was walkin' over from the shade of a few trees. I was surprised when I saw her. She wasn't wearin' her usual jeans. She had on a pair of denim shorts. They wasn't ridin' up her ass like girls usually wore their shorts, but she was showin' more skin than usual. She was still wearin' my vest. Against the dark leather and under the sun, her hair looked even more gold. As she walked up to join the rest of us, our eyes met. I couldn't miss the smile that suddenly appeared, or the quick wink she gave me before stopping next to Glenn.

I gave her a nod. As I leaned against the bike, I realized I had stopped shakin'.

Dale asked about Carl. Rick and Lori said he was gonna be all right. They said it was 'cause of Shane, and I almost laughed. That son of a bitch was clearly still into his best friend's wife.

We had a service for the guy who died helpin' Shane get Carl medicine and such. Shane said a few words, at the request of the guy's widow, and I knew from the beginnin' somethin' was off. Shane was such a prick. He looked like a goddamn idiot in his oversized overalls and newly shaven head. I had to keep from snickerin' durin' the whole damn service.

When that was done, we set up camp. I set up my tent a little ways away from the others. I needed some kind of space. As I pitched my tent, I thought about Roslyn. I was pretty sure she didn't have a tent or a sleepin' bag. Dale already shared the RV with Andrea, and it looked like Carol might be stayin' on it too. There was really nowhere else for her to go. She seemed buddy, buddy with Glenn and T-Dog, but she didn't need to be stayin' with them. She could stay with me.

"Are you looking for a neighbor?"

I looked up at Roslyn, who was standin' next to my tent with a rolled up sleepin' bag and a drawstring bag. She was smilin' down at me.

"I guess." I told her, lookin' at the drawstring bag. "Is that a tent?"

"Yeah." Roslyn lifted the bag to show me. "Maggie was nice enough to lend me a sleeping bag and a tent. It's a good thing too. I was starting to think I'd be stuck sleeping in the SUV or the Jeep."

"You ever set up a tent before?" I asked, watchin' Roslyn sit down on the ground.

"No, but I'll give it a try." Roslyn said, openin' the bag.

While I finished settin' up my stuff, I watched Roslyn try to figure out the tent out of the corner of my eye. She was lookin' at the pieces of the frame, tryin' to fit them together. Whenever she got frustrated or confused, she ran a hand through her hair and sighed. Even though it was amusin' for me to watch, after a while, I couldn't anymore. I crawled over, takin' the pieces from her.

"Watch me do this, girl." I told her, startin' to put the frame together.

I would look up every so often to make sure Roslyn was payin' attention. She watched what I was doin'. I could tell she wanted to learn, just like she wanted to learn to shoot. Even though she didn't know shit about survivin', she was willin' to learn. I could appreciate that. It was why I wasn't annoyed with her when she didn't know what she was doin'.

"Thank you." Roslyn said when I was done.

"No problem." I said, crawlin' into my tent to unroll my sleepin' bag.

"How was it last night?" Roslyn asked from outside my tent.

"Andrea and I looked for a bit." I said, comin' back out of my tent. "We didn't find nothin'."

I didn't want to tell Roslyn about the hangin' walker. I had a feelin' that it might upset her.

"Are you going out today?" Roslyn asked.

"Yeah. I'm headin' over to check out a map with Rick in a few." I said.

"Oh." Roslyn crawled towards me. "Do you want help? I could come with you."

I didn't mind bein' around Roslyn. I would go so far as to say I liked it, but I didn't want her out in the woods. She didn't know how to shoot. I didn't want anything to happen to her because she wasn't ready, or for her to get trigger happy if she got spooked.

"You can start lookin' with me after you learn to shoot." I said, gettin' up. "I'll start teachin' you tomorrow."

"Okay." Roslyn nodded.

I picked up my crossbow from the ground, hangin' it over one shoulder.

"I told you I'd keep your vest safe. Again." Roslyn said, startin' to take off my vest. "Since you're here now, I guess I can give this back."

I watched the leather slide against her skin. It really did look better on her than on me.

"Keep it." I said, makin' her stop. "I ain't gonna wear it now. You might as well."

"Okay." Roslyn said, puttin' the vest back on. I saw her smilin' at the ground.

"Well, I gotta go." I said, watching her adjust the vest on her body. "I'll see you later?"

"Yeah." She nodded, lookin' up at me. "We're neighbors after all."

I saw her tryin' to get up, but reached down for her before she could. She gave me another smile before takin' my hand. I pulled her to her feet, a little harder than I meant to. I wrapped my arm around her waist as she crashed into my chest. I looked down at her. She slowly looked up at me, her green eyes starin' into mine. I saw her eyes flicker to my lips, then back to my eyes. She wanted a kiss.

"Rain check?" I asked.

"Okay." Roslyn nodded.

"I'll see you later." I told her, removin' my arm from around her. "Keep that vest safe."

"I will." She promised.

I left her in between our tents to go and check out the map with Rick. I looked back once. When I did, Roslyn gave me a wave. I waved back.

0o0o0

Sophia wasn't in the farmhouse, but it looked like she might've been at some point. That was good enough for me. I packed it in to head on back, slinging my crossbow back. As I was leavin' the property, I noticed some flowers bloomin'. On closer inspection, I saw that they were Cherokee roses. I knelt down, touchin' the petals with my fingers.

I thought about Carol missin' her daughter. I didn't know why it bothered me so much. I guess it was a lot of things. It was my mama, it was my brother, it was Roslyn. If nobody else was gonna find that little girl, then I was gonna be the one to do it. I'd bring her home to her mama. I'd make it right.

_"All right, Gramps, we gotta move." I said, bustin' back into the room._

_ "Move?" The old man asked. "Why, Dennis?"_

_ "Uh…" I set down the crossbow, wiping my hands on my pants. "They're, uh, they're changin' your room, Gramps."_

_ "I didn't ask for a room change."_

_ "I know, but you got one anyways." I said, goin' to the old man's bedside. "You ready?"_

_ "I guess so." The old man sighed, pushing back the covers as far as he could. "I'll have to speak with Rosy about this."_

_ I awkwardly lifted the old man up. I could feel his skin through the back of his gown. He was easy to carry. He barely weighed a thing. I carried him out into the hall, my eyes on the basement door. I had checked it out. There was a bunch of old people down there, but the nurses had been too lazy to take all the ones they left behind down there._

_ "Is this the way to my new room?" The old man asked as I carried him downstairs._

_ "Yeah." I said, hurrying down the steps._

I carefully picked one of the roses. I set it down so that I could pick a second flower. I held onto them easily as I headed back to the farm.

0o0o0

After I checked in on Carol, I headed over to Roslyn's tent. I thought about announcin' myself, but figured modesty was for two people who hadn't seen each other naked. I opened the flap. Roslyn was curled up on top of her sleepin' bag. She had kicked off the top of it at some point. She had shimmied out of her shorts, but was still wearin' the same top and my vest.

I closed the flap behind me, crawlin' quietly over towards Roslyn. Her eyes were closed, flickerin' gently in her sleep. Her breathin' was deep and steady. She was fast asleep. I looked at her peaceful face. I hadn't seen her lookin' so easy since before the world went to hell.

I slowly reached for her hand, but frowned when I touched it. I opened her hand to look at it. There were blisters on the palm of her hand. They were angry and red. I wondered what had happened while I was gone, but was glad that she was obviously okay. Leavin' her hand open, I gently laid the second Cherokee rose I'd picked on her palm.

Though she hadn't come right out and said it, I had a feelin' that somethin' terrible had happened concerning her grandpa. I figured she'd tell me if she wanted to. I hadn't told her much about my own scars or about what happened to Merle. There were some things that were better not to talk about. She knew somethin' happened to my brother, I knew somethin' happened to her grandpa. We didn't have to talk about it.

_I finished bringin' the last person down to the basement. When they were all in the beds, I went back over to Roslyn's grandpa. He was waitin' for me, his crossbow layin' across his lap. He was runnin' his fingers over it, starin' down at it._

_ "I gotta go, Gramps." I said._

_ "When will you be back, Dennis?" The old man asked, still starin' at his crossbow._

_ "I'm bringin' Rosy here to see you. She'll be here in a little while." I told him, ignorin' his question._

_ "You'll stick around for a while, won't you, Dennis?" The old man asked, lookin' up at me. "Rosy needs you. She needs somebody to look out for her."_

_ "What about you, Gramps?" I asked, reachin' for the crossbow. I was startled when the old man grabbed my hand._

_ "You know I won't be around forever." He said, starin' right at me. "I need to know that Rosy will be taken care of when I'm gone. Promise me, Dennis."_

_ I looked down at the old man. He looked like he might cry._

_ "I'm gonna protect Rosy." I told him, bendin' down so that I was on the same level as him. "You don't gotta worry about her. I'll look out for her, Gramps."_

_ The old man sighed._

_ "Good." He said, layin' back against the pillows._

I looked back up at Roslyn's face. I reached my hand out, runnin' my thumb over the beauty mark on her cheek. When I touched her, she moved. I almost jerked away, thinkin' I woke her up. Instead, she just smiled in her sleep.

Before I crawled out of her tent, I covered Roslyn in the sleepin' bag.

0o0o0

"Morning."

I opened my eyes, squintin' in the sunlight. Roslyn was bent over, lookin' at me through the openin' of my tent. She was holdin' a peach out to me. I raised my hand. She threw the peach to me.

"Thanks." I mumbled sleepily, bitin' into the peach.

"You're welcome." Roslyn said, closin' the tent. "I'll wait for you out here."

I finished my peach before changin' shirts. When I was dressed, I got out of the tent. I saw Roslyn helpin' Carol with laundry, and went over to them.

"Where'd you get the blisters?" I asked when Roslyn and Carol both smiled up at me.

"Oh." Roslyn looked down at her hand, which now had Band-Aids across the blisters. "There was a biter in one of Hershel's wells yesterday."

"That don't explain the blisters." I said, ignorin' the pang of fear knowin' that a biter had been near Roslyn when I hadn't been around.

"Shane didn't want us to shoot the biter and contaminate the water." Roslyn explained, scrubbin' one of my shirts in the basin of soap and water. "We lowered Glenn into the well so that he could drop a noose around the biter's neck. The rope nearly gave way, so we all had to pull Glenn out of the well."

"Christ Almighty." I sighed, rollin' my eyes. "Why didn't you all just shoot the damn thing?"

"Shane didn't-"

"Whatever." I waved my hand. "Shane's an idiot."

"Are you still going to teach me to shoot today?" Roslyn asked.

"Sure."

"Great." Roslyn looked down at her sudsy hands. "Would you mind…?"

"I'll get it." I said, wavin' my hand at her. "You just keep washin' my shirt, girl."

Roslyn and Carol laughed as I walked over to the RV to get Roslyn's gun and one for myself. Dale was keepin' them in the RV. When I opened the door, I heard two voices inside.

"…first time since she's been here that she's decided to help with the laundry." Lori said.

"Lori, you ladies haven't done laundry since before the CDC." Rick said, shiftin' audibly.

"That isn't the point. She hasn't made any attempt to help us cook meals-"

"That's not fair either. We've barely eaten a full meal since we left the CDC."

"Why are you sticking up for her? Is it because you feel sorry for her?"

"I'm sticking up for her because she's a good kid. If it weren't for her help with T-Dog, he might have gotten too sick to be saved." Rick shifted again. "She told me before that she felt like she was intruding on our group. I think we should all be making her feel welcome-"

"Which time did she tell you that? You two have had a few private conversations."

"What are you saying, Lori?"

"Are you keeping secrets from me?"

"No. I'm not."

Lori sighed.

"Rick, if that girl doesn't start pulling her weight around here, I'm going to have to say something."

I had heard enough. I made my presence known, stompin' up the steps so that they knew I was comin' into the RV. Lori looked over Rick's shoulder at me as he turned around to acknowledge me.

"What do you need, Daryl?" Rick asked, givin' me a fake smile.

"I need Roslyn's gun and one for me." I muttered, riflin' through the bag of guns on the table. As I pulled out the two handguns, I glared up at Lori. "Roslyn asked me to teach her to shoot, you know, so she can start pullin' her weight around here."

Before either of them could say anything, I left the RV.

"You ready?" I asked Roslyn.

"Let me just help Carol hang this stuff." Roslyn said, hangin' a shirt on the clothesline.

I watched Roslyn hangin' the clothes with Carol. I wondered what Lori's problem was with Roslyn. Lori seemed to have a problem with everyone most of the time. That woman had a bug up her ass. I felt sorry for Rick, havin' to deal with a woman like that. Roslyn was helpin' out. She got us out of the CDC, she helped T-Dog when he got hurt, she helped Dale search cars for supplies, and she had obviously helped with the whole well situation. Now, she was doin' laundry with Carol. What else did Lori want?

"Okay. I'm ready." Roslyn said, dryin' her hands off.

"Let's go." I said, wavin' my arm for Roslyn to follow.

"Where are we going?" Roslyn asked, walkin' alongside me.

"Just off Hershel's property, that way we can use the guns without pissin' the old man off."

"Daryl, he's being very gracious letting us camp out on his farm." Roslyn said. "If he doesn't want us using guns without his permission, I think that's reasonable."

I grunted.

"Are you going out looking for Sophia later?"

"Yeah."

"Can I come?"

I looked down at Roslyn. She was lookin' up at me.

"Can I ask you somethin'?"

"Sure." Roslyn shrugged.

"Why do you want to come with me? I mean, wouldn't you rather do some washin' or some cookin' or somethin'?"

"What?" Roslyn stopped walkin'.

"I don't know. I was just askin'."

"Do you think that's what I should be doing?" Roslyn asked, foldin' her arms.

"I was just askin'." I stressed again.

Roslyn looked up at me like she wasn't satisfied, but she answered my question anyways.

"Rick told me that men are in charge of watches. He said that the women are in charge of cooking, cleaning, and watching the kids. That's fine with me. I get it." Roslyn sighed. "I just think that a missing child takes precedence over making sure everyone has clean underwear."

I grinned. Roslyn immediately smiled back.

"If you say so, Gardener, but if we all start stinkin'…" I started walkin' again.

Roslyn laughed as she caught up with me.

"If you think I shouldn't be out here learning to shoot-"

"I think you should." I interrupted her. "I think all you ladies should learn."

"Then what is it?"

"Look, don't read too much into this, all right?" I asked, lookin' over at Roslyn. She nodded. "Lori tends to get extra pissy when she feels like people ain't pullin' their weight. I just don't want her gettin' after you for not helpin' out."

"Lori said something about me?" Roslyn asked, meetin' my eyes.

"I overheard her talkin' to Rick." I admitted, but pointed at her. "Like I said, don't read too much into it. If you'd rather spend your time pullin' watch duty than doin' laundry, I won't stop you. That's your decision."

"That's not it at all." Roslyn laughed tiredly. "Today is the first day we've even done laundry since I've been around, and I helped Carol do it."

"That's what Rick told Lori."

"I don't mind doing those things. Those are the things I was responsible for at home." Roslyn ran her hand through her hair. "I'll help out with that stuff, but finding Sophia is more important. If that means that one night I don't help make dinner, so be it."

"I'll tell you what. If you do good today, I'll think about takin' you out with me tomorrow."

"Fair enough." Roslyn nodded.

When we were off Hershel's property, I found a broken down fence that was perfect for Roslyn to practice on. The first thing she had to learn was how to aim and hit a target. We would get to movin' targets once she was comfortable with using her gun.

"All right. Show me what you got, and then I'll help you out." I said, standin' a ways back. "Aim for the middle post."

"Okay." Roslyn said, holdin' up her gun. She already had her finger on the trigger. Mistake.

I watched as Roslyn aimed for the middle post. After a minute, she fired. There was no bullet hole in the middle post. She had missed it completely.

"Lower your gun, finger off the trigger." I said, walkin' up next to Roslyn. "Let me tell you what you did, and show you how to fix it."

"Okay."

"Never put your finger on the trigger unless you're sure." I said, holdin' up my gun. "See? You wait until you got your shot."

"That makes sense." Roslyn nodded.

"You were grippin' the gun real loose. You can't. You have to squeeze it until your hand shakes, then you ease up just a little." I showed her with my gun. "See how my hand is shakin'? Then just ease it up a bit, just until the gun ain't shakin' no more."

I showed Roslyn how to hold the gun, how to aim, and how to squeeze the trigger. I made her watch me aim and fire a few times. After a while, I asked her to try again. She missed.

"Here, let me show you." I said, shovin' my gun into my waistband.

I walked up behind Roslyn, my hands slidin' across her arms to the gun in her hands. I heard Roslyn gasp suddenly, and wondered if I scared her.

"You all right?" I asked.

"Yeah." Roslyn said, her voice real quiet.

With my hands over hers, I felt them shakin' under mine. I felt her grip on the gun. She wasn't holdin' it tight enough to be shakin' 'cause of that.

"You nervous, girl?" I asked, bouncin' between worried and curious.

"A little." Roslyn admitted, turnin' her head a little to look at me.

"Don't think about anything else except this. Focus on this." I stressed, positionin' her hands.

Roslyn turned her head back towards the broken fence. I slowly moved one hand from hers to her waist, my hand layin' flat against her stomach.

"Take a deep breath in." I said, feelin' her body move when she breathed in. "When you let it out, squeeze the trigger like I showed you."

I waited to feel her breathe out beneath my hand. I finally felt her exhale, and saw her slowly squeezin' the trigger. I watched the middle post as the shot went off. There was a bullet hole in it.

"You did it." I said, lettin' go of Roslyn. I stayed right behind her.

Roslyn slowly turned around, tuckin' her gun into her pants like I had. She looked up at me.

"Rain check?" She whispered.

I had to admit that the closeness had put me in the mood. I wrapped my arms around Roslyn's waist, pullin' her up off the ground. She gasped when I did it, but recovered real quick. She wrapped her arms around my neck as she hovered in the air. She beat me to the kiss, but I kissed her back just as hard. There was somethin' about the girl that set me on fire.

Carefully, I lowered Roslyn to the ground. Before I could move over top of her, she already had her legs wrapped around my waist. She was movin' her hips against me. Even though it wasn't the first time we'd had done it, I was still surprised that Roslyn wanted me in that way. She was so pretty. She could've had anyone.

"Lose your pants." Roslyn said, breathin' heavy from kissin' so much.

"You gotta unwrap me if I'm gonna do that, girl." I chuckled, rubbin' my hands along her thighs.

Roslyn fell back on the ground, leavin' me to take my pants off. I watched her as she pulled off her shorts and then her underwear. The girl drove me nuts.

"You comfy?" I asked, slidin' out of my boxers.

"I'm fine." Roslyn said, pullin' me on top of her.

I kissed Roslyn as she wrapped her arms around my neck again. Her mouth was hot. Her breath was hot. Her skin was hot. She was lightin' me on fire, and I liked it.

"Please." Roslyn suddenly begged between our kisses.

I knew she must've had some feelings stir up because of shootin'. She needed me to distract her from whatever bad memories she was thinkin' about. I understood that. It was what a hunt or a beer did for me after havin' a bad day. Roslyn was beginnin' to distract me from the bad shit like I was distractin' her.

I didn't waste any more time. I gave Roslyn what she wanted, what she needed. She wrapped her legs around me again as I did her. I kept one hand on the small of her back so that our rockin' back and forth on the rough grass didn't give her a rash or a burn. I moved my other hand over her vest, feelin' the outline of her breast beneath it. The girl didn't have to do much to get me off.

When I was finished, I got off Roslyn. I didn't know if she was uncomfortable on the ground.

"Daryl…" Roslyn said, lookin' up at me as I put my boxers and pants back on.

"Yeah?" I asked, lookin' down at her.

Roslyn looked like she wanted to say somethin'. Her eyes stayed on mine for a moment, but then she smiled and shook her head.

"Thanks for the rain check, and for the lesson."

"You're welcome." I told her, offerin' my hand to help her up.

0o0o0

When we got back to camp, I went to see what Rick and Shane were plannin' on doin' as far as Sophia was concerned. As I started over towards the huddle, Roslyn came up to me holdin' the shirt she had been scrubbin' early and hung up to dry.

"Here. It's dry." She said, holdin' it out to me. "I'll take your dirty one and clean it for you."

"You don't gotta." I said, strippin' off my shirt to change into the one she gave me.

"I know. I want to." Roslyn said, takin' a step towards me. "Besides, I need to start pulling my weight around here, right?"

Before I could say anything, she winked at me and was walkin' away with my dirty shirt.

"All right, everyone's getting new search grids today." Rick was sayin' when I walked up. "If she made it as far as the farmhouse Daryl found, she might have gone further east than we've been so far."

As we were talkin' over the map, the boy from the house walked up.

"I'd like to help." He said. "I know the area pretty well and stuff."

"Hershel's okay with this?" Rick asked the kid.

"Yeah. He said I should ask you."

"All right then. Thanks."

"Nothing about what Daryl found screams Sophia to me." Shane said suddenly. "Anyone could have been holed up in that farmhouse."

I rolled my eyes. Shane was such a stupid prick.

"Whoever slept in that cupboard was no bigger than yay-high." I said, showin' everyone with my hand.

"It's a good lead." Rick said, and I appreciated it.

I looked down at the map. There was a place in the woods where the terrain elevated. It was in the same direction as the farmhouse.

"I'm gonna borrow a horse, head up this ridge right here, take a bird's eye view of the whole grid." I said, pointin' at the map. "If she's up there, I'll spot her."

When we finished talkin' things over, I went to my tent for my crossbow. I was about to go in my tent, but couldn't help but notice Roslyn sittin' a ways from camp. She had her back to me. I wondered what she was doin', and figured I'd say goodbye since I was already over that way. I headed over to where she sat, standin' behind her.

"What're you doin' out here, girl?" I asked.

Roslyn didn't say anything. I felt my forehead wrinklin' up, wonderin' what was wrong.

"Gardener?" I asked, gettin' down on one knee behind her. I laid a hand on her back. She was rigid. "Roslyn?"

I grabbed her shoulders, makin' her turn to look at me. The moment I did, I heard her gaspin'. There were tears shinin' in her eyes. She couldn't breathe.

"Roslyn!" I shouted, shakin' her.

"Don't…" She gasped out, raisin' a hand to cover my mouth. "Don't…"

"I'll take you to the doc." I said, lettin' go of her shoulders so I could pick her up.

"Don't…" She gasped again, her other hand fistin' my shirt. "Don't…please…"

Roslyn sounded like a fish outta water. She was gaspin' for air like she was havin' trouble breathin', but if she was talkin', it meant she wasn't chokin'. That's when it hit me. She was havin' a panic attack of sorts.

"I'll be right back. I'm not goin' to tell nobody. I'm goin' to get you some medicine." I told her, peelin' her fingers away from my shirt.

I went to my tent, grabbin' up the bag of pills. I fished out the bottle of Xanax. When I went back to where Roslyn was sittin', she was still gaspin' for air. I got a pill out of the bottle.

"Open up." I said, waitin' for her mouth to open. I put the pill in her mouth when her lips parted.

When she had taken the pill, I scooted up behind her. I eased her back against me, her back layin' against my chest. I wrapped one arm around her waist, layin' my other hand over her chest. I could feel her lungs strugglin' to get air, her heart poundin' under my hand.

"Just breathe, Roslyn. The medicine will start workin' soon." I said as quietly as I could.

"Stupid…" She gasped, her forehead against my neck.

"You're not stupid." I told her. "_This_ is stupid. What upset you? Was it shootin'?"

"No…"

"What was it?"

"Can't…"

"You can't tell me?" I asked, movin' to look down at her. "You either do want to tell me or you don't. It isn't can or can't. You can tell me anything."

Roslyn looked up at me. There were still tears in her eyes, but none had fallen down her face.

"Later…" She closed her eyes.

"Fair enough." I muttered, rubbin' my hand over her chest.

We stayed that way for a while. Eventually, Roslyn started breathin' like a normal person. When she seemed all right, I let her go.

"I'm so sorry." Roslyn said, lookin' at the ground. "I'm so embarrassed-"

"There's nothin' to be embarrassed about." I told her, rubbin' the back of my neck.

"That's never happened to me before." Roslyn said, still lookin' at the ground.

I sighed. I needed to go and look for Sophia, but felt bad about leavin' Roslyn the way she was.

"I gotta go. I'll be back before dark." I said, standin' up. "I gave you a Xanax. I'll give you the bottle. If you start feelin' like that again, just take another one."

I held out the bottle to Roslyn, who was still sittin' on the ground.

"Thank you." She said, lookin' up at me for a second to take the bottle.

"You gonna be all right?" I asked, shiftin'. I suddenly felt uncomfortable about the emotions circlin' us at that particular moment. I had never been good with feelings.

"I'll be fine." Roslyn mumbled, runnin' her fingers through her hair.

"Okay. I'll be back later." I said, turnin' to go. "Just…take it easy."

As I walked away, part of me was sayin' that I should go and make sure Roslyn was really okay. The other part of me knew that I needed to go out and look for Sophia. I could tell that Roslyn felt embarrassed about what had happened, so I figured maybe time apart was a good thing. I'd talk to her when I got back later.


	7. When You Say Nothing At All

_When You Say Nothing At All_

**When You Say Nothing At All**

**Lorem tenebrae: **I'm so glad that you liked Daryl's POV. I was nervous that it would sound like Roslyn, and she and Daryl are obviously not the same person. You'll find out why Roslyn had a panic attack right up front in this chapter.

**VealMaster: **You're welcome. Thank you for taking the time to leave me a review. I appreciate it. As for Daryl's fall and struggle to get back to the farm, I didn't actually write that part out. I switched back to Roslyn's POV for now, so you'll read how she felt about Daryl coming back injured. I hope you aren't disappointed

**Leyshla Gisel: **Don't worry! You'll find out below!

**FanFicGirl10: **I agree with you. Daryl and Roslyn love each other – they're both just unaware of how deep their feelings run. Both have been so focused on surviving from day to day that they haven't taken the time to notice that their friendship has clearly become something more. I definitely want there to come a point where it isn't just having sex, but making love.

**VeritasKym: **I completely agree with you about Carol. She is definitely worthless. Even though she uses a gun now, she's still a weak link in the chain. Oh my god. When Rick said, "What about Carol?" I was like, "Wait…what?" Then I was like, "Oh yeah. Carol has a thing for Daryl. Right." Roslyn's panic attack was kind of supposed to come out of nowhere. Since the last chapter was in Daryl's POV, we didn't get to see what happened. You'll find out in this chapter. As for Roslyn's feelings regarding Daryl, she absolutely has feelings for him. I would even say that she loves him at this point. She has just been dealing with emotions revolving around her grandpa and her survival that she hasn't had the time to really realize that her friendship with Daryl has become something more. I always enjoy your reviews. Thank you!

0o0o0

I took a few moments to gather myself before returning to the group. I was still thoroughly embarrassed that Daryl had seen me in that moment of anxiety. I had never experienced a panic attack. When I realized that was what was happening, I had stumbled out a ways from everyone else so that I wouldn't draw attention to myself. I was just relieved that Daryl hadn't gone and gotten Hershel or anyone else to come and help me.

As I sat alone, I thought about what had happened. It was stupid. I shouldn't have let it upset me as much as it did, but that was what happened when I stuffed my emotions deep down instead of dealing with them like a normal person.

_"I'm back, ladies." I said, walking up to Lori and Carol as they hung another set of clothes they had washed while I was gone. "What can I do to help?"_

_ "Well-"_

_ "Thank you for gracing us with your presence." Lori interrupted Carol, glaring up at me for a moment. "I was beginning to think that you and Daryl had run off."_

_ "What?" I asked, but then I remembered what Daryl had told me. "Look, Lori, I've really tried to do what I can to help out around here. If there's more I could be doing, all you have to do is tell me-"_

_ "I'm not your mommy, Roslyn." Lori interrupted, wringing out a shirt. "It isn't my job to tell you what you should and shouldn't be doing around here."_

_ Carol remained silent beside Lori. She looked visibly uncomfortable by the conflict. I was too._

_ "Daryl was just teaching me to shoot." I finally said._

_ "Oh. Is that what you two were doing?" Lori asked, her eyes flickering down and then back up to my eyes. I followed her gaze. My zipper was pulled down. "I didn't realize that you needed to get naked in order to learn how to shoot."_

_ I didn't know what to say. Lori was being irrational. I figured she still held a grudge against me for compromising the group's escape from the CDC. I was just going to have to prove to her that I was useful._

_ "We're going to cook dinner tonight for Hershel and his family." Carol said suddenly, but quietly. "Would you like to help us with that?"_

_ "Do you even have any experience in the kitchen?" Lori asked, lifting an eyebrow._

_ "I cooked for my grandparents and for the nursing home residents sometimes." I replied. "Is that good enough?"_

_ "I don't know. Did you ever kill them with your cooking?"_

_ I couldn't help it. I suddenly saw their faces in my mind. I relived injecting all of the residents, checking their vitals, and pulling the sheets over their bodies._

_ "Roslyn?" Carol's voice sounded far away when she spoke. "Are you all right?"_

"Roslyn?" I looked back to see Glenn approaching me. He gave me a funny look. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I replied, turning away from him.

"What are you doing out here?" Glenn asked, suddenly settling down beside me.

"I just needed a minute."

"I couldn't help but overhear what happened." Glenn met my gaze. "I'm sorry about Lori. She can be really nice if you're on her good side, but if you're on her bad side…"

"I don't even know what I did to get on her bad side." I muttered, looking away.

Glenn sighed heavily enough to get my attention. When I looked at him, he had turned his body completely to face me.

"If I tell you something, you have to swear not to say a word." Glenn pointed at me severely.

"Okay." I replied, wondering what he had to tell me.

"Lori might be acting the way she is because…she's pregnant." Glenn murmured.

"What?" I asked, my eyes widening automatically. "Oh my god. She's pregnant?"

"You can't say anything." Glenn repeated. "Lori asked me to get her a pregnancy test when Maggie and I went to the pharmacy. When I asked Lori about it this morning, she didn't deny it when I asked if she was pregnant."

"Wow." I looked away from Glenn, shaking my head. "A baby…"

"Yeah."

We sat in silence for a time. It made sense that Lori would be unkind to me because she was pregnant, therefore hormonally challenged. I started to feel a little bit better about what had happened.

"So is it true?" Glenn asked suddenly.

"Is what true?"

"Lori accused you and Daryl of hooking up out there." Glenn nodded in the direction of the dirt road. "Did you guys really do that?"

"Oh my god, Glenn." I rolled my eyes. "Why are you asking?"

"I don't know." Glenn said, looking away from me suddenly. He began to blush faintly.

"Glenn, did you and Maggie…?" I asked slowly, watching his face.

"Yesterday at the pharmacy." Glenn mumbled, still refusing to look at me.

"Wow. Good for you, Glenn." I said, shoving him a little.

"Really?" He asked, finally meeting my eyes.

"Why not? If you needed a distraction or a release, why not have sex with Maggie if she's willing and wanting it too?" I shrugged.

"Is that what Daryl is to you? A distraction?" Glenn asked.

"He's my friend and our sex is a distraction." I corrected him with a smile.

"Your friend?" Glenn made a sound with his mouth. "Don't you mean your boyfriend?"

"I meant what I said." I replied.

"Is that why you're wearing his letterman jacket?" Glenn asked, chuckling.

"What?" I asked, furrowing my brow.

"Daryl Dixon is captain of the crossbow team." Glenn reached out and touched the shoulder of Daryl's vest. "Are you head cheerleader?"

"Shut up, Glenn." I knocked his hand away from me as he laughed.

We got up and headed back to camp after that. I went up to the house and knocked on the door.

"Roslyn, you can come in. You don't have to knock." Maggie said, opening the screen door.

"I'm sorry. It seemed rude to just walk in." I said sheepishly, walking past her into the house.

"I appreciate it." Maggie replied, shutting the door. "Lori and Carol are in the kitchen with Patricia and Beth, or did you need something else?"

"No. I was coming to help them with dinner." I said with a smile. "Thanks."

"I'll come help out in a little while." Maggie said as I headed for the kitchen.

I went into the kitchen. Lori and Carol immediately looked up at me. Lori dried her hands off on a rag before walking over to me.

"I'm sorry about earlier." She murmured only for my ears. "I've been under a lot of stress, and-"

"It's okay." I interrupted with a nod.

"Would you like to skin some potatoes?" Lori asked, leading me towards the island.

"Sure." I said, picking up the peeler.

0o0o0

I paced outside of the door with T-Dog standing nearby and Lori sitting on the floor, against the wall. I could hear voices speaking inside of the bedroom, but couldn't make out words. It felt like they had been in there for centuries.

"Roslyn, you have to chill." T-Dog told me, watching me pace. "Hershel is in there with Daryl. He's getting patched up. Everything is cool."

"I know." I mumbled.

"Please stop pacing." Lori groaned from the floor. "You're making me feel sick."

I stopped, looking down at Lori. I remembered what Glenn told me, and nodded. I chose to lean against the wall instead, fidgeting impatiently.

"What are we going to do with you?" T-Dog chuckled, shaking his head.

Moments later, the door opened. I leaned away from the wall as Hershel stepped out of the room. He was wiping his hands off on a towel. He turned towards me.

"I gave him something to help him rest." Hershel told me. "You can go and sit with him if you'd like, but only if you let him sleep."

"I will." I promised, waiting for Rick and Shane to leave the bedroom.

I went into the bedroom, shutting the door behind me. Daryl was laid up in the bed, the sheets pulled up over him enough to cover everything below the waist. He was covered in dirt and superficial scratches. I could see stitches on his side and across the side of his head.

"Daryl." I breathed, going to his side. I sat on the edge of the bed.

Seeing him injured the way he was affected me in a way that surprised me. Daryl was my friend, so of course it bothered me that he was hurt, but it went deeper than that. When I heard what had happened, I felt like I was going to have another panic attack and become physically sick simultaneously. Luckily for me, I still had Xanax in my system. It took the edge off of those feelings, and eventually, they subsided. My worry and my fear didn't. Even as I sat on the edge of the bed, watching Daryl breathing as he slept, I felt scared that he might stop.

"Daryl." I whispered, leaning towards him. I carefully ran my fingernails through his hair, avoiding his stitches. "The one time I tell you not to be careful, you come back like _this_."

"It wasn't my fault. It was the damn horse." Daryl suddenly muttered, his eyes still closed.

"Daryl, you're supposed to be sleeping." I replied, taking my fingers out of his hair.

Daryl opened his eyes. He looked up at me.

"You all right?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You're the one with stitches and you're asking if _I'm_ all right?"

"After what happened earlier, I didn't know if…" Daryl's head lolled to one side. "I didn't know if this upset you enough to make that happen again."

"I was…_am_…worried about you." I admitted softly.

"You don't gotta worry. I'm still kickin'." Daryl replied, shifting so that he was leaning against the pillows.

"Can I get you something? Do you want a drink? A sponge bath?" I asked.

"Sponge bath?" Daryl asked, lifting an eyebrow. "Damn, girl, tryin' to jump me when I'm injured?"

"I used to give sponge baths at the nursing home and at the hospital all the time."

"Maybe later." Daryl yawned. "I'm startin' to feel tired."

"Hershel said he gave you something to help you sleep." I said, getting up off the bed. "I'll let you rest. I'll bring you something to eat later."

"Roslyn…"

I turned around. Daryl was looking up at me like he wanted to say something, but he didn't.

"I'll be back later." I told him, leaving him to sleep.

I helped put dinner on the table when everything came out of the oven. While everyone gathered around to eat, I went out on the front porch. I didn't feel like eating. I sat on the steps, leaning my head against the post. I looked out at the empty campsite.

0o0o0

By the time I went back to Daryl's room, Carol had already taken him a tray of food. He hadn't touched it when I walked in. He was awake, and turned over towards me as I shut the door behind me.

"I figured you might need help with something or that you might want company." I said, sitting down in one of the chairs by the bed.

"I ain't hungry right now." Daryl muttered, laying on his back.

"Okay." I shifted in the chair, feeling something in the air that I couldn't identify. "Is everything all right, I mean, besides what happened to you in the woods?"

"I was just wonderin' what happened with you today." Daryl said, crossing his arms under his head. He was still dirty from his adventure and mishap in the woods. "You said you'd tell me later what happened. You don't gotta, but-"

"I will." I said quietly, leaning forward on my knees. "I feel like I should tell you some things to help you better understand what happened."

"All right." Daryl nodded, watching me.

"Both of my parents grew up in Georgia. My mom grew up in a single parent household. Her dad left her mom when she was little, so it was just her and her mom all her life. She grew up appreciating the sacrifices her mom made for her. They were always really close. My dad, on the other hand, grew up with both of his parents. My dad was really smart. He was always at the top of his class throughout school. As he got older, he started to resent my grandparents. They weren't well off, and didn't have enough money to send my dad to the school he wanted to go to out of state. He worked really hard in high school to make good enough grades to get a scholarship. The second he got what he wanted, he married my mom and left Georgia to go to school.

My dad felt like my grandparents didn't do enough to make sure he had enough money to go to college. He decided that he didn't want to go back to Georgia. He didn't want to see his parents. My mom, on the other hand, refused to cut her mom and my dad's parents out of her life. When my brother and I were young, my mom decided that she was going to start taking us to Georgia over the summer. We would visit our grandparents. My dad always stayed behind in Rhode Island, where we lived.

When I was ten years old, my parents were killed in a car accident. A drunk driver going the wrong way on the highway hit them head on. They were killed on impact. After they died, my brother and I went to live with my dad's parents in Georgia. My brother was always unhappy there. He had gotten used to the life my dad had given us back in Rhode Island. He was just as smart as my dad, maybe even smarter, and made excellent grades in school. He received several scholarships to schools out of state.

Dennis turned eighteen just a few days after his high school graduation. That day, he packed up all of his things and left for school in Boston. It broke my grandparents' hearts. They had watched their grandson go down the same path as their son. I think that it aged them more quickly.

I started helping out a lot more around the house. As the years went on, my responsibilities grew. By the time I was eighteen, I was doing everything around the house. I had even gotten a job at Savannah's since my grandparents started experiencing money problems.

My grandma died in her sleep suddenly when I was nineteen. Dennis didn't even come for her funeral. My grandma's death set off my grandpa's mild dementia. That developed into Alzheimer's. I had to sell my grandpa's Buick so that I could get him into Peach Tree…"

Daryl had slowly sat up against the pillows as I talked. I got up out of the chair and went to sit on the edge of the bed.

"I loved my grandparents. I never resented them for not being wealthy or for not living in a different part of the country. After seeing what my dad and my brother did to them, I felt an even stronger urge to take care of them and protect them.

After you left me at the nursing home, another volunteer showed up, Victoria. For two weeks, she and I cared for the residents. Then, the medicine started to dwindle. We didn't have enough to keep everyone healthy and comfortable…" My voice trailed off.

"You don't gotta tell me, Roslyn." Daryl murmured, watching my face.

"I have to get this off my chest." I replied, looking into his eyes. "I don't want to carry it around anymore. I don't want to have another episode."

Daryl nodded.

"It was my idea." I said, feeling tears at the corners of my eyes. "Victoria and I…we injected all of the residents with medicine to put them to sleep, and then medicine to…"

Daryl didn't say a word. He didn't have to. I felt his arms around my shoulders, pulling me down onto the bed beside him. We laid facing each other while silent tears streaked down my cheeks. It was the first time I had cried since leaving the nursing home basement. Daryl moved one arm around my waist, pulling me in close to him. He used his other hand to gently brush my hair back off my face, and then to wipe the tears away from my face. I felt his eyes on my face as I cried.

When my tears subsided, I looked up into Daryl's eyes. I met his.

"Merle went into the city with others to get supplies." Daryl suddenly murmured, his blue eyes holding mine as he spoke. "He was shootin' his mouth off like normal. He got into a scuffle with your buddy, T-Dog. He beat him up pretty bad. About that time, Rick handcuffed Merle to the roof they was on to keep him from fightin' with the others."

Daryl swept his hand across my cheek.

"Remember what I told you, girl? We gotta do what we gotta do to survive." Daryl looked away momentarily. "I was pissed off when I found out what Rick did to my brother, but now…"

Daryl looked back at me, his fingers moving along my face.

"You did what you had to do. You spared those old people from sufferin'." Daryl brought his other hand up to my face. "Don't feel guilty about somethin' you shouldn't feel guilty about."

I looked into Daryl's eyes. There was something swirling in his blue eyes, something that I couldn't put my finger on. It was whatever had been hanging in the air before. I had never felt it before. I didn't know how to identify the emotion. I had no basis for it. Whatever it was, it was strong enough to reflect in his eyes as he looked into mine.

We laid that way for a while, just looking at each other. Finally, I knew I should go. Daryl was healing, and he needed to sleep.

"Can I get you anything before I go?" I asked quietly.

"You're leavin'?" Daryl asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I would love to stay, but you should get some rest."

Daryl's lips moved, but he didn't speak. He let go of my face and nodded.

"I don't need anything." Daryl said in reply to my question as I got out of bed.

"All right." I hovered by the bed, looking down at Daryl as he gazed up at me. "Are you sure?"

"Don't worry about me, girl." Daryl moved under the sheets, laying on his back. "I'm the one sleepin' in a big, comfy bed."

I smiled.

"I'll come visit you tomorrow." I said, leaning down. I pressed a kiss into Daryl's cheek. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Daryl mumbled, watching me as I pulled away from him.

I left him to sleep and went outside. As I was walking towards my tent, I heard a sound. I looked up to see Dale leaning over the side of the RV. He waved to me.

"Would you mind coming up here?" He asked.

"Not at all." I said, wondering what Dale wanted.

I climbed the ladder onto the roof of the RV. Dale patted the spot beside him. I sat down.

"I was worried about you. You weren't at dinner." Dale said, looking over at me.

"I just needed to be by myself." I replied, looking out over the campsite. "It was kind of a rough day for me."

"I can imagine." Dale said. "Are you feeling any better?"

"In a way, yeah."

"You know…you can talk to me, Roslyn. I know that I'm not your father or even your grandfather, but I _am_ your friend."

I looked over at Dale.

"I talked with Daryl about some things that were bothering me." I said, taking advantage of Dale's offer. "I feel somewhat better about those things, but…"

"But?"

"When I found out that Daryl had been injured, I felt so sick and so scared…"

"Daryl is your friend, your good friend. That's completely understandable and expected."

"I wasn't expecting the intensity behind those feelings." I replied, looking back down at the campsite.

"I see." Dale nodded.

"I don't know." I shook my head. "Like I said, it's just been a rough day for me."

"Why don't you get some sleep?" Dale touched my shoulder. "A good night's sleep should clear your head and settle your emotions."

"You're probably right." I agreed, getting to my feet. "Thanks for checking on me, Dale."

"Have a good night, Roslyn." Dale said as I climbed down the ladder.

I walked to my tent and crawled inside. After the day I had, it didn't take me long to fall asleep.

0o0o0

The next morning, I helped T-Dog and Dale pull down the sails on the RV and set them up. It was only getting hotter as the summer progressed. Soon, if I kept correct count of the days, it would be July. Though it meant having to wash them daily, I made it a habit of wearing my shorts constantly. I would have died of heat stroke in jeans. I didn't know how the rest of the group wore them in the Georgian heat. I could barely be bothered to wear a shirt.

"What do you suppose that's all about?" Dale asked suddenly, drawing my attention.

I looked over in the direction Dale was motioning to. Glenn and Maggie appeared to be having an intense conversation. It ended with Maggie walking back into the house, leaving Glenn standing alone.

"I don't know." I muttered, watching him slowly walk towards the house. "Should I talk to him?"

"We'll find out what's going on." T-Dog said, wiping the sweat from his head. "Glenn's not that great at keeping things to himself, as you know, Roslyn."

"Shut up, Theodore, or else I won't wash your underwear." I threatened, tying the bottom of my tank top into a knot.

"At least you'd suffer with me." T-Dog replied with a grin.

"You two…" Dale shook his head with a smile of his own.

I looked up as Glenn walked towards us with a paper sack. Maggie had been giving him one filled with fruit or biscuits every morning for him to share with everyone.

"I have peaches." Glenn mumbled, holding out the sack.

"Thank you, Glenn." Dale said, taking a peach from the sack.

"Thanks." I said, watching Glenn's face as I took a peach. He looked funny.

"What's up?" T-Dog asked casually, grabbing a peach for himself.

"Nothing." Glenn replied quickly, his eyes darting between the three of us. "Nothing's up. Why?"

We all just stared at Glenn as he walked away to take peaches to everyone else.

"See? I told you." T-Dog said, biting into his peach. "It's only a matter of time before that boy spills the beans on whatever's happening."

"I wonder if he had a fight with Maggie." I mused aloud.

"If he hasn't said anything by the end of the day, I'll ask him." Dale said.

"Well, I better go check in on Daryl. I told him I'd visit him today." I said, running my fingers through my high ponytail. The back of my neck was slick with sweat.

"Daryl is in his tent." Dale said, pointing to Daryl's tent. "He moved out here early this morning before anyone else was up."

"I didn't know." I mumbled, heading over to Daryl's tent just as Andrea stepped out of it.

"Good morning, Roslyn." Andrea said as she passed by.

"Good morning." I replied, watching her walk off.

I moved the flap back on Daryl's tent. He was laying inside, propped up on pillows, holding a book in his hands. When I peeked in, he looked up from the book.

"Hi." I said, stepping inside and sitting down. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here." Daryl replied with a smirk. "What are _you_ doin' here?"

"I told you that I'd visit you. I just expected I'd be visiting you in the house."

"I didn't want to stay in there." Daryl said, shrugging.

"How long do you have to stay off your feet?"

"At least for today." Daryl grumbled, tossing the book he had been holding to the side.

"So…no shooting lesson today?" I asked.

"I hear that Rick and Shane are takin' some people out to teach them." Daryl suggested.

"I like _our_ lessons better." I told him with a smile and a wink.

Daryl chuckled.

"Can I bring you anything?" I asked.

"Roslyn, I ain't cripple." Daryl told me with a relaxed smile. "If I need somethin', I'll get it."

"Okay." I got to my feet. "I'm going to make myself useful. If you want, I'll come back later."

"Sure." Daryl said, watching me go.

I spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon helping Carol with laundry. As the day carried on, I noticed Glenn talking with Lori. I wondered if Lori being pregnant had anything to do with why he had been so weird earlier that day. I decided to find out.

"Glenn," I said, walking alongside him as he left Lori's side, "what's going on?"

"What?" Glenn asked, wearing the same strange expression. "What do you mean?"

"I saw you talking to Lori. Is something wrong?"

"Oh…Lori." Glenn sighed. "She asked me to get some things for her at the pharmacy. I was just going to ask Maggie if she wanted to come with me."

"Does Maggie know about Lori?"

"No."

"Do you want me to come with you?" I asked, stopping when he paused outside of the house. "I can help you get what you need, that way you don't have to tell Maggie if you don't want to."

"That might be a good idea…" Glenn looked up at the house.

"Since we're taking horses, Maggie should still come with us, but I can get whatever Lori needs. You won't have to worry about it."

"Okay. I'll go ask Maggie." Glenn said, walking up the steps.

Maggie came out of the house with Glenn, but there was something definitely going on between them. She was frowning as she took Glenn and I to the stables. Since I had never ridden, Maggie offered to let me ride with her. She was nice to me, but when she looked at Glenn, she would frown again. I wondered what had happened. It obviously had nothing to do with Lori.

We rode to town in silence. I rode in the saddle behind Lori.

"You know, you didn't have to come." Glenn said suddenly as we got close to town. "Roslyn could have ridden with me, and we could have just come without you. You could have hated me from a distance."

I couldn't see Maggie's face from behind her, but I could tell she wasn't looking at Glenn.

"Please say something." Glenn begged.

"I asked for your trust and you betrayed it." Maggie snapped suddenly, turning her head to look at Glenn. "That's all I'm going to say. It's not the time or place."

When we got to the pharmacy, we dismounted. There was an uncomfortable silence and feeling in the air as we walked inside. When we got through the door, Glenn turned to me. He tried to slip me the list of what Lori had asked for, but Maggie's eyes caught it.

"What's that?" Maggie asked, folding her arms over her chest as she glared at Glenn.

"Lori asked me to get her some things." Glenn replied meekly. "I can't say what they are."

"So when one of them asks you to keep your mouth shut…" Maggie's voice trailed off as she suddenly looked over at me, her gaze softening slightly. "No offense."

I held up my hands.

"Here." Glenn said, holding out the list to Maggie. "Crawl out of my butt."

Maggie opened the paper to read what Lori needed. When she read the words, a tired smile pulled at her lips. She looked up at Glenn, and then at me.

"You've got to be kidding me." She huffed, heading towards the back of the pharmacy.

"I'm sorry." I whispered to Glenn. "I didn't know that you two were-"

"It's okay." Glenn murmured, looking over some of the products on the shelves in front of us.

"What does Lori want, anyways?" I asked.

"She wants Plan B." Glenn muttered.

"What?" I asked, turning to look at Glenn. "It's a little late for that."

"I think she's hoping-"

"No!" Maggie screamed suddenly.

Glenn and I both looked up to see a biter attacking Maggie through the shelf she was standing in front of. She was struggling to get free from it as it held onto her wrist, trying to pull her through the shelf.

"Maggie!" Glenn shouted, running towards the back of the pharmacy.

"Glenn, help me!" Maggie screamed, fighting against the biter.

I ran towards the back of the pharmacy after Glenn, pulling out my hunting knife. As Glenn grabbed a nearby shelf to use as a weapon, I jumped the counter. I ran to Maggie's side as she continued to scream and struggle against the biter. I reached through the shelf, grabbing the biter's arm. With my other hand, I stabbed into the biter's flesh. It snarled in protest on the other side of the shelf as I continued to stab into its arm. The knife finally severed the arm at the wrist, freeing Maggie. She fell backwards onto the ground.

"Get it off me!" She shouted.

I watched as Glenn leapt onto the counter with the shelf. He used it to bludgeon the biter, sending it flying to the floor.

I looked down at Maggie, who was pulling the biter's hand, which was still wrapped around her arm, off of her. She threw it away from her with a strangled sob.

Glenn hurried to Maggie's side, helping her off the floor. He grabbed her face.

"Did it hurt you? Did it bite you?" He asked quickly.

Maggie pulled him to her, sobbing into his shoulder as he held her. Over her crying, I heard a groaning sound. I turned around as the biter was about to get up from the floor. Still holding my knife, I put my hand on its shoulder and drove the knife down into its head. I felt blood splatter against my face as the knife pierced the skull.

"Roslyn!" Glenn shouted from behind me.

I felt a tugging on my arm, and turned. Glenn gripped my wrist as he looked at my face.

"Are you all right?" He asked.

I nodded, unable to find my lips to speak.

Glenn guided Maggie and I to the counter to have a seat. We sat beside each other, both staring at the floor. When Glenn returned, he had two damp rags with him. He offered one to me while he used the second one to gently clean the blood from Maggie's arm. I used the rag to wipe my face off.

"Are you okay?" Glenn asked me again, looking over at me.

I nodded.

"I'll pack my bag. Both of you stay here." Glenn muttered, heading to the front of the store.

"Are you-"

"Thank you, Roslyn." Maggie suddenly wrapped her arms around me. "Thank you."

"I'm just glad we got to you in time." I murmured, returning her embrace.

Glenn returned for Maggie and I, and we were off. It was even quieter on the ride back to the farm than it had been on the way to town.

0o0o0

"Roslyn!"

I turned around as Daryl rushed as quickly as he could manage with an injured side towards me. I hadn't seen him since getting back from town. I was standing away from camp, leaning against a tree. I leaned away from it as Daryl got closer to me.

"Why didn't you tell me about what happened in town?!" He shouted angrily.

When Daryl finally reached me, his eyes lowered. I knew he was staring at the blood sprayed across my bare stomach and tank top.

"I got blood on your vest. I'm sorry." I muttered.

Daryl looked up at me suddenly, his blue eyes glaring down at me.

"I don't care about my goddamn vest!" He shouted, grabbing my arms. "I care about the person wearing it! You should've come and told me what happened! I had to hear about it from Dale…"

Daryl's voice trailed off. He looked away from me suddenly, as though he was embarrassed about something. I wondered if he had just realized what he had said to me. I was just beginning to comprehend what he had said to me. Suddenly, it all made sense, all the times Daryl had told me to be careful with his vest. He hadn't been telling me to take care of his vest. He had been telling me to take care of myself.

"Are you all right?" Daryl asked softly, looking back at me.

The fear I had felt before at the pharmacy took full effect now that I was in a position to let my guard down. I suddenly began to cry.

Daryl pulled me to him in one, swift movement. He hadn't hugged me since we met up at the CDC. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me close to his body. I rested my head against his chest, crying as he held me.

"You're all right, girl." Daryl murmured. "You're all right."

When my cries quieted, Daryl pulled me away from him.

"I hear that hunting knife came in handy." He said, keeping his hands on my shoulders.

"It did." I sniffed, looking up at him.

"You did good." Daryl told me, taking one hand from my shoulder to place against my cheek. "You should be proud of yourself."

I nodded.

"Let's get you to the house. I bet a shower would do you some good."

Daryl wrapped one arm around me as we walked towards the house. He kept it secured around my waist, even as we walked through camp. Lori was staring at us, while Carol looked on with surprise. I saw Dale smiling from the roof of the RV. T-Dog was grinning from the shade of the sails.

When we got inside, Maggie immediately took me upstairs. She ran me a shower. I took my time, cleaning the remaining blood off my skin. Even though I should have been thinking about what had happened at the pharmacy, as the water circling the drain turned pink with the blood coming off of me, I wasn't. Thoughts of Daryl were racing through my mind as I washed my body. Normally, I would have been thinking of him sexually. I would have wanted a distraction from what had happened, what could have happened, and would have jumped his bones after showering. That wasn't what I was thinking.

_"Thank you for letting me use this."_

_ Daryl looked down at the vest before glancing back up at me._

_ "Why don't you hang onto it today…"_

_ "Damn, this looks good on you, girl." Daryl murmured, running his fingers along the vest._

_ "Thanks." I replied quietly, watching Daryl's face as he touched the soft leather._

_ "Keep it safe for me, will you?" Daryl asked, taking his fingers off the vest. I thought he was going to touch my face again, but he settled for tucking a strand of hair behind my ear…_

_ "I see you kept that safe for me." Daryl said, nodding towards his vest._

_ "I told you I would." I replied, walking towards him…_

_ "I told you I'd keep your vest safe. Again." I said, starting to take off his vest. "Since you're here now, I guess I can give this back."_

_ "Keep it." Daryl said. "I ain't gonna wear it now. You might as well…."_

_ "I got blood on your vest. I'm sorry." I muttered._

_ Daryl looked up at me suddenly, his blue eyes glaring down at me._

_ "I don't care about my goddamn vest!" He shouted, grabbing my arms. "I care about the person wearing it! You should've come and told me what happened! I had to hear about it from Dale…"_

I thought about when I had heard what happened to Daryl the day before. There was something about the way Daryl had reacted to what happened at the pharmacy that reminded me of how I felt when he had been injured in the woods. The feelings were intense. Did friends feel that intensely for one another, even if they were good friends?

When I finished in the shower, I got dressed and went downstairs. I was surprised to see Maggie and Beth pushing the couches off of the living room floor.

"What's going on?" I asked.

Maggie stood up and turned around to face me.

"I invited everyone inside." She said, looking down at the blood stain on the shirt she hadn't changed out of. "I thought that after…after what happened, it might be nice to actually enjoy ourselves."

"We baked a cake." Beth piped up, sliding the coffee table out of the way.

"My dad said he doesn't want everyone to stay too long, but…"

"It's a nice gesture." I said, coming down the last two steps. "It's thoughtful."

"Will you stay?" Maggie asked.

"Of course." I said. "Why don't you go and change? I'll help Beth."

Maggie nodded. She jogged up the stairs while I finished helping Beth move the furniture. When the floor was clear, we laid down several blankets and pillows. By the time we had finished, Maggie had changed into a new set of clothes. The three of us lit several candles, scattering them around the room.

While Maggie went to retrieve everyone, Beth and I iced the vanilla cake they had baked. When we brought the cake and several plates and forks into the living room, most everyone was seated on the blankets and pillows. Rick was sitting with his legs splayed, Lori seated in between them. Carl sat next to them. Glenn was sitting with Maggie. Beth went to sit with Jimmy, setting the cake down in the center of the circle. Dale and Andrea were sitting by each other, but there was significant space between them.

"Where are Shane and Daryl?" I asked, settling down next to T-Dog.

"Shane offered to take watch." Rick answered, looking across the circle at me. "I haven't seen Daryl since he walked you to the house."

"I think he's resting in his tent." Carol said.

It was quiet then. After a few minutes of silence, Beth reached for the cake.

"Who wants cake?" She asked, looking around the circle.

While Beth cut several slivers of cake for everyone, Maggie left the room and returned with a record player. She set it down on the outside of the circle. When the music started, I recognized it instantly. She was one of the only artists I had on my iPod. As her voice cut through the silence, Beth passed the slices of cake around to everyone.

"Were there any developments today?" I asked, referring to the search for Sophia.

"Not today." Rick replied quietly, his eyes flickering to Carol. "I'm sure we'll pick up her trail tomorrow. We just haven't found the right spot yet."

Carol gave Rick a smile.

Besides the sound of the music and forks scraping against plates, it was quiet. I felt bad that Maggie's thoughtfulness was going to waste. It just didn't seem like anyone was in the mood to have a good time.

"I'll go and take cake to Shane and Daryl." I finally said, taking two untouched pieces of cake.

"Do you need some help?" T-Dog asked, setting down his plate.

"I can get it. Thanks, though." I told him with a small smile.

I walked outside, cake in hand, and headed for the RV. I could see Shane standing on the roof. As I jumbled the plates to climb the ladder, I dropped one.

"Shit." I mumbled, looking down at the cake in the grass.

I managed to climb the ladder with the good piece.

"I brought you a piece of cake, Shane." I announced myself, sliding the plate across the roof.

"Cake." Shane huffed, keeping his back to me.

I sighed, and started back down the ladder.

"Roslyn?"

I looked up to see that Shane had turned around. He was crouched down, one hand on the plate.

"Thanks." He said, giving me a nod.

"You're welcome." I replied, climbing down the ladder.

I was going to head back into the house to get a new piece of cake for Daryl, but stopped below the steps as I heard the music floating out of the house. I recognized the song that had just started playing. I closed my eyes, listening to the music and the words that went along with it.

"Roslyn?"

I turned around, opening my eyes to see Daryl standing behind me. It was almost perfect. As I heard the song in the background, I looked up at Daryl. It couldn't have been a coincidence.

As we looked at each other, I could almost hear Daryl's thoughts. He didn't have to say a word. I knew that he was thinking the same things as me. I knew he had come to the same revelation that I had. As we continued to stare into each other's eyes, he began to smile. I swear, I could hear the words echoing from his heart into mine.

_I need you. I want you._

Even under the cloak of night, I could see the blue of his irises in the moonlight. The words in his heart swirled in his eyes for me to see.

_I'll never leave you._

Daryl suddenly reached for my hand. I didn't dare look away from his eyes. I didn't want to miss anything that he was telling me. I didn't want to miss a single word.

_If you ever fall, I'll be there to catch you, girl._

As Daryl shared his heart with me, I tried to convey what was in mine. There was something about the way he looked into my eyes, the way he held my hand, that told me he knew.

Daryl didn't have to say a word, and neither did I.


	8. Secrets

_When You Say Nothing At All_

**Secrets**

**Author's Note: **Hi, everyone. This (slightly shorter) chapter is once again in Daryl's POV. Also, expect a twist at the end of this chapter.

**zansbitch1: **Hurray!

**FanFicGirl10: **Don't hold your breath for Daryl and Roslyn to say 'I love you'. If it happens at all, it won't happen for a while. That doesn't mean that they don't love each other, though. There's no jealousy from Carol. In this particular story, there won't be any animosity between Carol and Roslyn where Daryl is concerned. However, in my next story, I think I'm going to explore that route. Dennis is a total asshole! I'm still wrestling with whether or not to have him show up. We'll see.

**BlackRose851: **I'm so glad! I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

**Lorem tenebrae: **I laughed out loud when I read your review. My husband looked at me strangely. Haha. I'm glad you liked the end of the chapter. I was hoping you guys would enjoy it!

**VeritasKym: **You definitely hit the nail on the head! And the song is called "When You Say Nothing At All". It's been covered by several artists, but the particular version I imagined for the scene is done by Alison Krauss.

**Leyshla Gisel: **Hahahaha! I died when I read 'Roslyn is Daryl's cake'. I hadn't even thought of that!

0o0o0

When I woke up in the mornin', I frowned before I even opened my eyes. I felt next to me as I finally did open my eyes, seein' that I was alone in Roslyn's tent. She had told me the night before that she was gonna offer to go look for Sophia since I was still off my feet. I was surprised I hadn't heard her leave or felt the empty space next to me sooner.

I crawled out of Roslyn's tent to go to mine. My stuff was in there.

"Daryl?"

I looked up and saw Rick's woman lookin' over at me. Carol was on her other side. They were both starin' at me like I had two heads.

"What?" I grumbled, movin' towards my tent.

Lori made her way over to me as I reached into my tent, pullin' out the first shirt I felt. I pulled it on over my head as I stood up.

"I thought you had gone somewhere. I came for your laundry, but you weren't in your tent." Lori said, wrappin' her arms around herself like she was cold.

"Help yourself." I nodded to my tent.

"I know that it's really none of my business, but I'm concerned about your relationship with Roslyn-"

"You're right." I snapped, cuttin' her off before she had a chance to speak her mind. "It ain't none of your business, or anyone else's."

"I know." Lori held up one hand, like that was gonna calm me down or somethin'. "I'm just voicing my opinion. You don't have to like it or agree with it."

"What do you care anyway?" I muttered. "You don't like Roslyn and you sure as hell don't like me."

I was already feelin' weird about talkin' to the sheriff's wife, so I ended our talk by walkin' away. I headed over to where the old man was keepin' watch.

"What's goin' on?" I asked him, squintin' against the sun.

"Good morning, Daryl." The old man said when he saw me standin' there. "T-Dog and Roslyn went into the woods to pick up on your trail. Shane and Andrea were headed in a different direction."

"Where's Rick?"

"He said something about speaking with Hershel."

"All right." I nodded. "I'll take watch."

"That's all right, Daryl-"

"I told you I'd take watch. There's nothin' else for me to do around here." I said, headin' up the ladder before the old man could argue.

"If it's all the same, I'll stay up here with you." The old man told me, smilin' for who knows what reason.

"Whatever." I mumbled, settlin' down on the roof.

"What was that all about?" The old man asked, pointin' at Lori.

"She was stickin' her nose in my business." I said, turnin' towards him. "Kinda like you're doin' right now."

"I'm not trying to do that." The old man said. "I care about what goes on this group because I care about everyone in it."

"Sure." I said, lookin' out at the trees.

"It's true whether you believe it or not." The old man shrugged. "It's no skin off my nose if you don't want to tell me what happened or not. I just thought I would ask."

I looked over at the old man. He used to bug me a lot more than he had lately. Roslyn seemed to like him. She talked with him quite a bit. She hung around him and T-Dog and Glenn, and Maggie since she and the Korean kid had been hangin' out so much. I liked Roslyn. If she liked the old man, I figured maybe he wasn't too bad. I'd rather talk to him than Lori or Shane.

"…she says she's concerned about me and Roslyn." I grumbled, lookin' back at the trees.

"Really?" The old man asked. "Why?"

"I don't know." I shrugged. "I don't care."

"I don't see why Lori would have a problem with you and Roslyn." The old man said. "I'm sure she's just trying to look out for both of you."

"You think everybody's good, don't you?" I asked, laughin' at the old man's naivety.

"No." The old man looked off. "Not everybody."

"Somethin' on your mind, old man?" I asked.

Before the old man could say anything, a distant gunshot sounded in the direction of the woods. I was already scramblin' down the ladder before I listened for any other shots. I went straight to my tent, grabbin' up the crossbow. Even though my side ached when I lugged the thing up, I ignored the pain as I started towards the trees.

"Daryl!" I heard Rick callin' me from behind.

I ignored Rick as I ran for the woods. So far, I didn't hear any other shots. One could've gone off durin' my climb down the ladder, but I didn't know. All I knew was that a gun had been fired in the same location as Roslyn. Even if it was Shane or Andrea who had fired the shot, I still wanted to make sure Roslyn was safe. She hadn't ever been out lookin' for Sophia before.

I growled as I reached the edge of the farm. When Roslyn told me she wanted to go out and help, I wanted to tell her not to go. I felt uneasy about her being out in the woods without me, especially after what happened to me out there. Her face looked so bright and happy when she said she wanted to help, that it would make her feel better and feel useful. I couldn't take that from her. I should've listened to my gut and kept her at the farm with me.

"Daryl!" Rick kept callin' out to me, even when he finally caught up.

"What?" I snapped, turnin' around.

"You can't just run into the woods the way you are. You're-"

"Roslyn is out there. She could be in trouble. She could be hurt." I said quickly, turnin' back around.

Rick didn't say nothin'. He followed me into the woods. He knew that if it were his wife or his kid out there, he'd be out lookin' too. We hurried through the trees, followin' my trail from the other day.

Just as Rick and I reached the ridge, we saw T-Dog and Roslyn comin' towards us. I dropped my crossbow. It was gettin' to be heavy for my side, but it was also in Roslyn's place.

"Daryl?" Roslyn came towards me, runnin' right into my arms when we met halfway.

"Roslyn." I wrapped her in my arms, pullin' her close even though my side throbbed. I moved my face into her hair, breathin' in the way she smelled. It helped to calm me down. After a minute or so, I moved her back far enough to see her face. "You all right?"

"I'm fine." Roslyn said, turnin' to glance back at T-Dog. "We're both okay."

"What happened? We heard a gunshot." Rick said from off to the side.

"Roslyn and I ran into some trouble back there." T-Dog motioned with his head. "We were checking out something at the bottom of a hill back that way. These two guys showed up. They wanted us to come with them, implied some stuff…"

I didn't need a fancy degree to know what T-Dog meant. I looked down at Roslyn, who met my eyes as I growled again. I was doin' that a lot that day.

"They touch you?" I asked her, studyin' her face.

"No." She said quietly.

"We had to draw down on them. They were starting to get forceful." T-Dog said.

"Let's get back to the farm. We'll talk more about this when we get there." Rick said.

I bent down for my crossbow, but T-Dog scooped it up. I looked up at him.

"I'll get this for you, man." He told me.

"Thanks." I mumbled, lettin' him walk ahead so I could walk with Roslyn.

"Are you okay?" Roslyn asked, wrappin' her arm around my waist.

"I'm fine." I said, wavin' away her question. "You sure they didn't touch you?"

"I promise." Roslyn said, lookin' up at me with those green eyes of hers. "They never even got close enough to try."

"They both dead?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"They're lucky." I muttered, watchin' Rick and T-Dog as they walked ahead.

Shane and Andrea met us at the edge of the woods. We decided to talk before we got back to camp. Rick didn't want to scare everyone.

"So what happened?" Shane asked, lookin' at T-Dog and Roslyn.

"I saw something on the ground at the top of this hill, so T-Dog and I went down to see what it was. It turned out to be this shoe." Roslyn held up a shoe I hadn't noticed before. "When we started back up the hill, these two guys showed up."

"Were they armed?" Shane asked.

"The older guy had a gun in his pants. I don't know about the second one." T-Dog said.

"They wanted us to come back with them. They said they have a group of people camped out just outside of town." Roslyn said.

As T-Dog and Roslyn told their story, I watched Roslyn carefully. She didn't look like she was hurt. There wasn't a hair out of place. I trusted her enough that she had told me the truth about those guys not touchin' her. I wondered how she was feelin' about what happened. I figured we'd talk later when we were alone.

"We don't need to tell anyone else what happened." Rick said. "I don't want Carol to worry about the possibility that those men ran into Sophia."

"I agree." Andrea said.

"You all go back to camp." Shane said to us. "Rick and I will take care of the bodies. We don't need any of their friends finding them shot dead. That might lead them to the farm."

"Make sure Carol sees that shoe." Rick said to Roslyn.

"I will." Roslyn looked down at the shoe in her hand.

"You both did good today." Rick said, lookin' at T-Dog and Roslyn. "We'll see you back at camp."

Rick and Shane went back the way they came to take care of the bodies. T-Dog, Andrea, Roslyn, and I headed back to camp.

The old man met us at the edge of camp. He ran right up to Andrea and Roslyn.

"Are you girls okay?" He asked, lookin' both of them over.

"We're fine, Dale." Andrea told him.

"What happened out there?" The old man asked.

"Walkers." T-Dog said, coverin' up the truth.

"Are you sure that you're all okay?" The old man asked.

"Dale, we're all fine." Andrea said, lookin' all annoyed like she usually did. "I'll take watch."

"I'll help." T-Dog said, followin' Andrea towards the RV.

"Now that they're gone, will you two tell me what really happened?" The old man asked, lookin' at Roslyn and I.

"What do you mean?" Roslyn asked.

"Why would you two shoot walkers when you're equipped with two knives?" The old man asked, lookin' at the knives strapped to Roslyn's waist.

I chuckled.

"You're too smart, old man." I said.

"Rick asked us not to say what really happened, but if you can keep it to yourself, I'll tell you the truth." Roslyn said quietly.

"I won't say a word." The old man said.

"Daryl, go lay down. I'll meet you at the tent later." Roslyn said, lookin' up at me.

"All right." I nodded, feelin' the throbbin' in my side.

Roslyn and the old man took a walk so that she could tell him what happened. While they talked, I crawled into my tent and laid down.

0o0o0

I sat in a camp chair while Roslyn helped Lori and Carol make dinner. Apparently, Lori was sore with Roslyn for goin' off to look for Sophia instead of helpin' with laundry that mornin'. I just rolled my eyes whenever Lori gave Roslyn a dirty look as they made dinner for everyone. The woman was ridiculous. If I was Carol, I would've been insulted. Lori might as well've said that washin' everyone's clothes mattered more than lookin' for Carol's little girl.

"How are you feeling?" Rick asked from the other side of the fire.

"I'm fine." I said, shiftin' in the chair. "I'll be better when I can get back out there."

"Don't rush it." Rick said. "You don't want to get out there and hurt yourself worse than before."

I grunted. I knew he was right, but I hated sittin' around camp waitin' for my side to heal.

Roslyn came around the circle, handin' out bowls. I watched her walk around the circle. When she came to me, she gave me a smile she hadn't given anyone else. It made me smile back.

When dinner was served to everyone, Roslyn settled down in front of me. I tried to move to give her my chair, but she refused to take it. She just laughed when I grumbled about it.

"Now that Sophia's shoe was found, what does that mean for tomorrow?" Carol asked.

"Shane and I are going to pick up the trail where T-Dog and Roslyn found the shoe." Rick said.

"Then what?"

"We'll see what happens."

"What about those walkers? They were right where the shoe was." Carol said, worried.

"Well…the-"

"T-Dog and I cut the walkers open…just like Rick and Daryl did before." Roslyn said suddenly, lookin' over at T-Dog as she lied. "Right?"

"Oh…yeah. Right. We did." T-Dog said. "There was nothing in their stomachs."

"Really?" Lori asked, lookin' at Roslyn and T-Dog. "You cut the walkers open?"

"Yeah."

"Where are your bloody clothes?" Lori asked.

"What?" Roslyn asked.

"Where are your bloody clothes?" Lori repeated. "Rick and Daryl came back from cutting their walker open covered in blood."

Nobody said anything. I glared across the fire at the sheriff's wife. She was beginnin' to get under my skin more than usual.

"Roslyn?" Carol asked. "T-Dog?"

"Lori-"

"I'm sick of there being secrets in our camp." Lori interrupted Rick before he could shut her up. "You two are lying about what happened, and the rest of you agreed to uphold their lie. I think that we all deserve to hear what really happened out there."

"We don't have to tell you shit, lady." I snapped, sittin' forward in my chair.

"Lori, you don't understand." The old man held out his hand like he was tryin' to calm Lori down.

"Of course I don't." Lori said, her voice gettin' louder. "How can I understand when people in this camp lie about the things that go on in it?"

"Are you saying that you've never had to tell a lie?" Roslyn asked suddenly, surprisin' me that she was gettin' involved. She usually shied away from conflict.

"I have never lied to this camp." Lori said.

"Really? You've never had to tell a lie to protect people in this camp?"

"Girls, please-"

"No." Lori interrupted the old man.

"I want to know what's going on!" Carol cried, tears comin' down her face.

It got quiet again. Everyone was either lookin' down at their bowls or lookin' at Carol.

"Roslyn and I ran into two men in the woods." T-Dog finally said. "They wanted Roslyn and I to come with them."

"Why would you want to keep that from me?" Carol asked, wipin' her tears. "Maybe they ran into Sophia. Maybe they have her."

"…they wanted Roslyn." T-Dog said, lookin' down.

"What? What do you…" Carol gasped suddenly. "No."

"Carol…" Rick said, stoppin' when Carol got up from the fire. She walked off.

The old man got up to go after Carol. The rest of us sat around in silence.

"See what you did?" I asked, glarin' at Lori as she sat in her chair.

"I…I didn't know." Lori looked between T-Dog and Roslyn. "I'm sorry. I-"

"Sorry doesn't change what happened."

"I'm just tired of all the secrets." Lori said, lookin' over at her husband.

"Me too." Roslyn said quietly, gettin' up.

I watched her head for her tent, and it only took me a moment to follow her. By the time I got inside of her tent, Roslyn was already laying down. She had her arms crossed over her face. I laid down next to her, proppin' myself up on my elbow.

"Talk to me, Roslyn." I said

"I'm just sick of certain people." Roslyn mumbled under her arms. "I've tried to get along with everyone, but I'm running out of patience for some of the people in this group."

"Lori?" I scoffed, rollin' my eyes at the thought of the woman.

"Her, and Andrea, and Shane…" Roslyn sighed.

"Don't worry about them." I said, pullin' on Roslyn's arms to uncover her face. "You don't gotta worry about them. They ain't your concern."

"I know." Roslyn sighed again, turnin' on her side towards me. "I was just angry because Lori is such a hypocrite. Our lie was supposed to protect Carol, but…"

"What?"

"Lori has her own little secret." Roslyn said quietly.

"What's that?"

"She's pregnant." Roslyn whispered.

"Are you kiddin' me?" I asked. "Are you fuckin' kiddin' me?"

"Shh." Roslyn put a finger to her lips. "I don't want to get Glenn in trouble. He's the one who told me. He's the only who knows…that I know of."

"Why? Is he the father?"

"Daryl." Roslyn giggled softly, her expression relaxin'.

"And she had the nerve to get uppity about us lyin' about those guys in the woods…" I shook my head. I looked down at Roslyn. "Are you all right about all that?"

"I told you I was fine." Roslyn said.

"I know you ain't hurt, but are you all right?" I asked.

"It wasn't my most favorite moment, but I'm really trying to do what you told me to do." Roslyn scooted closer to me. "I'm trying not to feel guilty about things I have to do. If T-Dog and I wouldn't have shot those men…"

"Damn straight." I said, liftin' Roslyn's chin. "Don't ever forget that. If you're ever in a situation like that, you don't hesitate. I don't care who the hell it is. You shoot anyone that looks at you the wrong way if you have to. You got me, girl?"

Roslyn looked in my eyes.

"Are _you_ okay?" She asked softly.

I moved my fingers from Roslyn's chin and into her hair. I pushed it back off her face, tuckin' it behind her ear. I was learnin' how to be softer. It sure as hell didn't come natural.

"I don't want you goin' anywhere without me." I said, slidin' my fingers down Roslyn's cheek. "If you leave this camp, I'm comin' with you."

Roslyn moved closer to me, our bodies touchin'. She pressed her forehead to my chest.

"I can live with that." She said against me.

I was glad she wasn't gonna fight me on it. In one move, I flipped onto my back and wrapped my arm around Roslyn, pullin' her to me. She wrapped her arm over me, nestlin' her head into me.

"You should go to sleep. You've had a big day." I said, rubbin' Roslyn's arm.

"So have you." Roslyn shifted to look up at me. "You shouldn't have run into the woods like that. You could have torn your stitches open."

"Girl, when it's you, I'll always come runnin'." I moved my face closer to hers. "Stiches or not."

Roslyn kissed me suddenly, surprisin' me. It wasn't that she kissed me. It was how she did it. It wasn't like before. She was kissin' me soft and slow. I'd never kissed someone like that. With me, it was almost an angry thing. It wasn't sweet. I felt awkwardly as she gently pressed her lips to mine over and over again. She noticed I wasn't kissin' her back, and pulled away.

"What is it?" She asked.

"I…I don't…I don't know how to…do this." I mumbled, rubbin' my neck.

"That's okay." Roslyn smiled. "Neither do I, but we'll figure it out together."

I felt better as Roslyn laid back down with me. She really wasn't like any other girl I'd ever met.

0o0o0

In the mornin', Carol made breakfast for everyone. Roslyn sat in between my legs. I ignored the looks some of the group was givin' us. I didn't give a shit what they thought about Roslyn and I. I would have flipped them all off, but didn't want Rick's woman goin' ape shit because I was bein' bad in front of her kid. Instead, I just ignored everyone around me while I ate.

"Um, guys, so…the barn is full of walkers." Glenn said.

I looked up from my plate of eggs at the kid. He looked nervous. I knew he was tellin' the truth. I swung my leg over Roslyn's head, tossin' my plate on the ground as I headed for the barn. Rick and Shane had the same thought as me. They followed me close behind. When we got to the barn, we all stood together in front of it. Now that I was close, I could hear the groans.

"I'll check it out." Shane volunteered, headin' towards the barn.

I secretly hoped one would bust through the wood and grab him. As Roslyn came up beside me, and I put my arm around her neck, I took that secret wish back.

"There's at least a dozen in there." Shane said, pointin' at the barn. "You cannot tell me you're all right with this."

"No I'm not, but we're guests here. This isn't our land." Rick said.

"This is our lives!" Shane shouted.

"Lower your voice." Glenn said, surprisin' me with his boldness.

"We can't just sweep this under the rug." Andrea said.

"Okay, we've either got to go in there, we've got to make things right, or we've just got to go." Shane said. "Now we have been talking about Fort Benning for a long time-"

"We can't go." Rick said.

"Why, Rick? Why?"

"Because my daughter is still out there." Carol said.

"Okay. Okay. I think it's time that we all start to just consider the other possibility."

I let go of Roslyn, turnin' around towards Rick and Shane.

"We're not leaving Sophia behind." Rick said.

"I'm close to findin' this girl." I said, lookin' at Shane. "I just found her damn doll two days ago."

"You found her doll, Daryl. That's what you did. You found a doll." Shane said.

I became angry instantly. I wanted to beat the living shit out of Shane. He was a fuckin' idiot. I started to go at him, and saw him doin' the same which just made me want to kick his ass even more, but Roslyn wrapped her hands around my arm. I looked down at her, knowin' she was just tryin' to keep the peace. I couldn't be mad at her for doin' what she thought was right.

"Shane, stop." Rick said, holdin' his hands up at his friend.

"Let me tell you something else, man. If she was alive out there and saw you coming all methed out with your buck knife and geek ears around your neck, she would run in the other direction."

I lunged forward, forgettin' Roslyn on my arm. She pulled back on me, keepin' me from Shane. Rick and Lori pulled Shane away. I wanted to tell Roslyn to let go of me, to let me pummel Shane. I couldn't. She thought she was protectin' me from gettin' into trouble. I knew her.

"Daryl." Roslyn said from beside me, her other hand touchin' my cheek. "Daryl, he isn't worth it."

I looked down at Roslyn. She had a grip on my arm like she wanted to tear it off.

"I won't do nothin'." I told her.

Roslyn slowly let go of my arm, but kept her hand on my face.

"You're better than that." She said, lookin' into my eyes. "You're better than him."

There was somethin' in her eyes. I knew she wasn't just tellin' me somethin' to make me feel better. She was tellin' me the truth. She really did think that I was a good man, a better man than Shane, maybe even Rick. Any anger I had been feelin' disappeared.

"I'm going to see if I can talk to any of the Greenes'. Are you going to be all right?" Roslyn asked.

"I won't do nothin' to Shane. I promise." I said, coverin' her hand on my face.

"Okay." Roslyn moved her hand from me. "I'll come and find you later."

I watched Roslyn go up to the house.

I really wanted to go and look for Sophia, but I had promised to stay out of trouble. I didn't want to let Roslyn down. Instead, I headed towards the RV to keep watch with the old man.

0o0o0

After Roslyn came out onto the front porch and startin' playin' a game with Beth and Carl, I left the old man to keep watch himself. The three of them were playin' some board game, but none of them really seemed interested in it. I stood over the table, keepin' a lookout while the three of them pretended to play a game none of them cared about.

After a while, T-Dog and Andrea left their post at the barn.

"Do you know what's going on?" T-Dog asked Glenn, who was sittin' with Maggie on the steps.

"Where is everyone?" Andrea asked, lookin' around.

"You haven't seen Rick?" Glenn asked both of them.

"He went off with Hershel."

I looked up and saw Shane comin' towards the house. He had the bag of guns in one hand and a rifle in the other. I looked down at Roslyn, who had noticed Shane too.

"Stay here." I muttered, leavin' the porch. "What're you doin'?"

"You with me, man?" Shane asked, holdin' out the rifle to me.

"What-"

"Are you going to protect your own?" Shane asked, noddin' at the house.

I turned to glance back at Roslyn, who was standin' at the table. She looked at me.

"Yeah." I said, turnin' back towards Shane. "Yeah."

Shane passed out guns to everyone who would take them. I had a pretty good idea of what he was wantin' to do. I didn't like walkers bein' in the barn either, but until I found Sophia, stayin' on the farm was our best bet. With Shane goin' off the way he was, I wanted to be armed anyhow.

Not long after Shane showed up, there was a commotion that caught our attention. Hershel and Rick were leadin' two walkers back to the farm. They were headin' for the barn. That really set Shane off. The guy started runnin' towards the barn like a bat out of hell. We all ran after him, guns in tow.

When we reached the barn, Rick and Shane started yellin' at each other. I turned around to see Roslyn standin' behind me. She was holdin' onto Beth, who was clutchin' her like Roslyn was her mama.

"You girls stay behind me. You got it?" I asked, makin' my face as serious as possible.

"Yeah." Roslyn said, strokin' Beth's hair.

I turned back around as Shane raised his gun. When he fired shots into one of the two walkers, I slipped my arm around Roslyn from behind, pressin' my hand into the small of her back. I wanted to know that she was behind me. I didn't know how things were gonna play out, but I had a pretty good idea.

When Shane put down the walker he had shot at, he suddenly went to the barn. He was breakin' the lock. He was gonna let the walkers out so that we could shoot them all. I glanced back at Roslyn, who was tryin' to calm Beth down as she cried hysterically. Roslyn gave me a desperate look, but there was nothin' I could do. The only thing I could do was help put down the walkers once they came out.

Even as the first walkers staggered out, I didn't fire a shot. Shane, Andrea, and T-Dog were already puttin' bullets into them. I turned back to look at Roslyn. Her expression had changed. Her jaw was clenched. She gave me a nod, as if tellin' me that she understood what I needed to do. I gave her a nod before I joined the others in puttin' down the walkers that were pourin' out of the barn.

Over the gunfire, I could hear Beth and her family sobbin'. I'd be lyin' if I said I didn't feel a twinge of guilt about the way things went down, but there was nothin' I could do. They'd just have to get over it.

When the walkers were all down, I lowered my gun. I turned to see Roslyn tryin' to hold up Beth's weight as she went weak in the knees. I hurried back to where they stood, wrappin' my arms around Beth's waist. I held her up to take the weight off Roslyn. The girl squirmed in my arms, tryin' to get away from me. After a few moments, I let go of her.

Beth ran over to the walkers, fallin' down next to one of them. As she was sittin' there, the walker grabbed at her. I moved to go help, but the other guys had it under control. They ripped the walker off Beth while Andrea put an axe in its head.

"Daryl." Roslyn said from next to me.

I automatically pulled Roslyn to me, wrappin' my arms around her. I rested my cheek against the top of her head, holdin' her as tightly as I could without hurtin' her or myself.


	9. Brave

_When You Say Nothing At All_

**Brave**

**Author's Note: **This chapter will also be somewhat shorter than the usual chapters. The next chapter will be longer than both this one and the previous one.

**CreepyDaisy: **You'll find out where Sophia is in this chapter!

**Leyshla Gisel: **You know Lori. She was always sticking her nose in everyone's business when she was alive. Shit, she's _still_ sticking her nose in and she's dead!

**Lorem tenebrae: **Lori always pisses me off. Haha. Here's your update!

**FanFicGirl10: **They definitely will act like it! I agree with you about Lori. I always think back to the episode where she gets angry with Rick for not telling her about Hershel wanting them to leave, while at the same time she was withholding the fact that she was pregnant and had hooked up with Shane. You'll find out where Sophia is in this chapter. Thanks for the review, darling!

**BlackRose851: **Thank you!

**NewMexicoeWine: **I'm glad you like my story! That's really nice what you said, and I couldn't have put it better myself. Here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy this one too!

0o0o0

In the aftermath of the barn shooting, several things happened. The first was that Hershel made it clear that he wanted Shane, and probably the rest of us, off his property. The second was that everyone pitched in to take care of the bodies. The third was that Rick wanted to come up with a plan to find the camp of people outside of town and somehow infiltrate their camp to make sure Sophia wasn't there. While all of that was going on, I decided to make myself useful to the Greene family.

I slowly approached the house, not knowing if it was all right for me to be anywhere near it. I walked up to the door and knocked on it, waiting for whatever response would come. Maggie answered the door, immediately opening it to me.

"Come on inside." She said, standing out of the way.

I went inside, lingering in the front room while Maggie shut and locked the door.

"Maggie, I'm so sorry." I said when she turned around. "I don't agree with the way that Shane handled the situation with the barn. It was wrong."

"My daddy is really upset." Maggie said, standing next to the couch. "Beth is too."

"I know. I came to see if there was anything I could do for you."

"I saw your friends out there at the barn." Maggie went to the window. "What are they doing with the bodies?"

"They're going to bury your stepmom and stepbrother." I said, joining Maggie at the window.

"Okay." Maggie nodded, looking over at me. "Will you do me a favor? Will you just make sure that they get buried? I don't want them…"

"I will." I said, setting my hand on Maggie's shoulder. "I promise."

"I'll go out there with you." Glenn said suddenly, coming out of the downstairs bathroom.

"You should stay up at the house with the girls and Hershel." I said.

"We'll be all right." Maggie told me. "I would rather have two people out there that I trust making sure that my mom and brother receive a proper burial."

Glenn and I went out to the barn. We didn't speak as we walked. When we got to the barn, we started digging the two graves near the barn. We dug in silence while the others loaded the remaining bodies into the truck. When I was halfway through with my hole, Daryl came over.

"Let me finish that hole." Daryl said, holding his hand out for the shovel.

"I can do it." I said, digging into the ground.

"You dug half of it." Daryl stepped down into the grave. "Let me dig the rest of it."

"All right." I sighed, handing him the shovel.

I sat with Daryl and Glenn as they finished the graves. When they were ready, T-Dog and Andrea lowered the bodies into their graves. We all filled in the graves before Hershel and his family came outside to join us for a service. We all stood together in front of the graves while Hershel said a few words. It wasn't like Otis' service. This one was much more somber.

When the service was finished, everyone slowly dispersed.

"What do we do now?" I asked Daryl as we stood together near the barn.

"Rick says he's goin' to talk to Hershel, see if we can stay." Daryl kicked the ground. "Shane's a dumbass."

"I just don't understand it." I shook my head.

"I'm goin' to talk to Rick. He said he's tryin' to figure out how we can scope out that other campsite, see if Sophia is there." Daryl reached for my hand. "You should go up to the house. Maggie likes you. She might need you…or somethin'."

"That sounds like a good idea." I said, holding onto Daryl's hand.

"I'll check in with you after I talk to him." Daryl promised, leaning in suddenly. He seemed to be hesitant about something.

"What?" I asked quietly, looking up at his furrowed brow.

"I told you…I don't know how to do this." Daryl muttered, finally making a decision that evened out his forehead. He leaned down, pressing his lips against my forehead in a tender gesture that surprised me, but in a good way.

"You're doing fine." I reassured Daryl with a soft smile.

"Good." Daryl mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I guess that's enough for now." I laughed quietly, letting go of Daryl's hand.

I went up to the house. Maggie let me in immediately. We both sat down together in the front room, on opposite couches, not saying anything. I could tell that my presence comforted Maggie somehow, because she kept looking up at me and smiling.

Suddenly, a crash caught our attention.

"Beth!" Maggie cried, running into the kitchen.

I followed Maggie and saw Beth lying on the floor.

"Oh my god." I breathed, dropping down next to Beth.

"Help me get her into the bedroom." Maggie said, grabbing Beth's arms while I gathered up her legs.

Maggie and I carried Beth into the bedroom.

"Where's your dad?" I asked.

"I don't know." Maggie went to the door. "Stay with Beth. I'll go and find my dad."

I sat down on the edge of the bed with Beth, whose eyes were open. She wasn't moving or responding to anything that Maggie or I had said to her.

"I can't find him." Maggie said as she burst back into the room. "I don't know where he is."

"I'll go and get the others." I said, getting up off the bed. "We'll find him."

I hurried out of the house, heading into camp. I found Glenn with Rick and Daryl. The three of them came into the house after I told them about Beth's condition and Hershel's disappearance. While Maggie took the boys upstairs to figure out where Hershel might have gone, I stayed with Beth. Her status hadn't changed at all since she had collapsed in the kitchen.

"Roslyn?"

I looked up to see Daryl standing in the doorway.

"What's going on?" I asked, getting up off the bed.

"Rick thinks Hershel is at the local bar." Daryl said. "He and I are goin' to find him."

"I'm coming with you then." I said immediately.

"No." Daryl put his hands on my shoulders. "You should stay here with Maggie and Beth."

"Glenn can stay here with them." I argued. "If you're going into town, I'm coming with you. Maybe I can help convince Hershel to come back."

Daryl growled, releasing me.

"You told me yesterday that if I went somewhere, you were coming with me. The same goes for you. If you go somewhere, I want to come with you." I said, reaching up to touch Daryl's face.

Daryl growled again, but it was somehow softer than before. He touched my hand.

"You have to do exactly what I say, and you need to stay within my sight." Daryl finally said.

"Fair enough." I replied.

0o0o0

Rick drove with Daryl as his passenger. I sat in the back with the weapons. Rick hadn't taken much convincing to let me come. He said I handled myself well in the woods before, and as long as I did what he and Daryl told me to, he was all right with me coming along.

"What's the plan?" I asked as we drove, breaking the silence.

"What do you mean?" Rick asked, looking at me in the rearview mirror.

"Are we going to try and sneak into that other camp while we're in town?" I asked.

"Right now, our priority is getting Hershel." Rick replied. "We'll worry about the other camp tomorrow."

"Can I ask you something, Rick?" I asked.

"Shoot." Rick said, looking at me in the mirror again.

"How do you feel about what happened back there?"

Rick sighed.

"I think the situation could have been handled better." Rick finally said, glancing at me in the mirror every once in a while. "Just before Shane decided to take matters into his own hands, I had convinced Hershel to let us stay as long as we did things his way. That was why I was helping him bring those two walkers to the barn."

"Damn." Daryl shook his head.

"I guess we were both doing what we thought was right."

"You were doing what you thought was right." I said, meeting Rick's eyes in the mirror. "Shane was doing what was safe."

"Safe is important." Rick replied.

"We were safe." I argued. "We didn't even know there were walkers in the barn until Glenn told us this morning. We could have gone on being ignorant and it wouldn't have mattered."

"Walkers?" Daryl asked, turning to look at me with a smile on his face. "What happened to biters?"

"I don't know." I shrugged.

"Maybe you're right, Roslyn." Rick said. "What's done is done. I wish things could have happened differently, but that's the way it is."

"Yeah."

It was quiet the rest of the way into town. When we got to the tavern, the three of us got out. I was armed with my two knives and Victoria's pistol. We walked into the tavern, and sure enough, Hershel was sitting at the bar inside.

"Hershel." Rick said, standing in front of the closed doors.

"Who's with you?" Hershel asked without turning around.

"Daryl and Roslyn." Rick said, walking towards Hershel. "They volunteered."

I looked up at Daryl.

"Go on." He said, motioning for me to go with Rick.

While Daryl lingered close to the doors, I joined Rick at the bar. Hershel was sipping on whiskey.

"How many have you had?" Rick asked.

"Not enough." Hershel replied, studying the liquid in his glass.

"Let's finish this up back at home." Rick said, his eyes flickering up to meet mine.

"Mr. Greene, Beth collapsed at the house." I told Hershel, continuing when Rick nodded. "We all think she's in shock after what happened."

"I think you are too." Rick said, looking down at Hershel as he looked up at him.

"Is Maggie with her?" Hershel asked.

"Yeah, but Beth needs you."

"What could I do?" Hershel asked, taking another sip of whiskey. "She needs her mother, or rather to mourn, like she should have done weeks ago. I robbed her of that. I see that now."

Rick looked at me again.

"Mr. Greene, when the outbreak happened, I was pretty skeptical of how serious it was. I went on living my life the way I had been before. It wasn't until I saw what the disease did to the people it infected that I realized how bad it was, and even then…" I shook my head as Hershel looked up at me. "It wasn't until a scientist at the CDC explained what the disease did to the brain that I finally began to accept what had happened."

"You thought there was a cure." Rick said, helping me to convince Hershel to leave the bar. "You can't blame yourself for holding out for hope."

"Hope?" Hershel asked, looking away from both of us. "When I first saw you running across my field, with your boy in my arms, I had little hope he would survive."

"But he did." Rick said.

"He did." Hershel agreed. "Even though we lost Otis, your man, Shane, made it back. We saved your boy. That was the miracle that proved to me miracles exist…only, it was a sham, a bait and switch. I was a fool, Rick, and you people saw that."

"I never thought you were a fool, Mr. Greene." I said quietly. "You're just a father trying to provide for his daughters the best way he knows how."

"My daughters deserve better than that." Hershel said, looking up at me.

Rick met my eyes again before he walked back to where Daryl was standing. While they spoke near the doors, I sat next to Hershel.

When I heard the door open, I turned around to see two men standing in the doorway. Rick and Daryl were already creeping back towards the bar. Daryl had his rifle aimed at the two men, who showed their hands as a gesture of good faith.

"Son of a bitch." The thinner of the two men said with a grin. "They're alive."

I got up of the stool, moving around the bar.

"Would you mind aiming your gun somewhere else?" The thinner man asked, looking at Daryl. "We're not going to bite. We just came in for a drink."

Daryl looked over at Rick, who nodded. Daryl slowly lowered his rifle, but he didn't look happy about it.

"That's better." The thinner man said, coming towards us. "I'm going to pour myself and my friend a few shots. Is that cool with you guys?"

"You can do as you please." Rick said.

The two men poured themselves several shots of tequila.

"I'm Dave." The thinner man said, sitting at one of the little tables. "That douchebag over there is Tony."

Tony was sitting at the bar, adjacent to Hershel.

"Eat me, Dave." Tony said.

"Hey, maybe someday I will." Dave replied. "We met on I-95 coming out of Philly. Damn shit show that was."

"Rick Grimes." Rick introduced himself, handing a shot to Tony.

I looked over at Daryl, who was watching Dave and Tony like hawks. If he didn't feel comfortable, neither did I. I remained silent behind the bar, wishing that the two strangers would go away.

"Care for a shot?" Dave asked, looking over at Daryl.

"I'm good." Daryl muttered, staring down Dave.

Dave shrugged, turning towards me. He smiled suddenly.

"How about you, sweetheart?"

"She's mine." Daryl growled, white knuckling his rifle as though he was ready to use it.

"My bad, man." Dave said, looking back over at Daryl. "I was just being friendly. You want a drink, pal?"

"I just quit." Hershel replied, suddenly sobering up.

"You've got a unique sense of timing, my friend." Dave said with a grin.

"His name is Hershel. He lost people today." Rick explained.

"I'm truly sorry to hear that." Dave said to Hershel. "To better days and new friends."

Rick took a shot with Dave and Tony. I looked back over at Daryl, but he was still glaring in Dave's direction. I knew that the 'sweetheart' comment had more than just ruffled his feathers. I wished I could go and stand by him, touch him, but I knew it was better for me to stay where I was.

Dave pulled out his pistol suddenly, showing it to Rick.

"Not bad, huh? I got it off a cop." Dave bragged.

"I'm a cop." Rick replied, leaning against the bar as he watched Dave.

"This one was already dead." Dave said with a grin.

I looked over at Tony, who was suddenly staring at Rick. Something was off about the two strangers.

"You fellas are a long way from Philadelphia." Rick said, either ignoring Tony's stare or oblivious to it.

I looked over at Daryl, who was suddenly looking at me. I studied his lips as he mouthed a message to me: 'Get down when I whistle'. I nodded in reply to his message, focusing my attention again on Tony. As subtly as I could manage, I laid a hand over the gun at my waist.

A sudden look between Dave and Tony caught my attention.

"How about you guys?" Dave asked Rick as I reentered the conversation.

"Fort Benning, actually." Rick replied.

"I hate to piss in your corn flakes, officer, but we ran across a grunt who was stationed there. He said the place was overrun by lamebrains." Dave looked around at all of us. "The truth is, there is no way out of this mess."

It was quiet for a few minutes. I could feel a tension building.

"It doesn't look like you guys hang your hats here. You holed up somewhere else?" Dave asked.

Immediately, I understood. Dave and Tony were fishing for information. As a sudden realization came over me, that they were probably part of the campsite out of town, I gripped the bar for support. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Daryl look over at me. I glanced up at him, catching his worried look.

"Not really." Rick finally said.

"Those your cars out front?"

"Why?" Rick asked, and I could tell that he was beginning to feel uneasy too.

"We're living in ours. Those look kind of empty." Dave motioned with his hands. "Where's your gear?"

"We're with a larger group." Hershel said. "We were out scouting, thought we could use a drink."

"Hershel, I thought you quit." Dave smiled at Hershel for a moment before looking down at the floor. "Well, we're thinking of setting up around here. Is it safe?"

"It _can_ be." Daryl said, finally speaking up after several minutes of silence.

"That's good." Dave looked up at Daryl, nodding. "You guys set up on the outskirts or something?"

"It ain't none of your damn business." Daryl replied bitingly.

As Tony stood up, Daryl lifted his rifle.

"Where the hell do you think you're goin'?" Daryl asked, his tone becoming more venomous.

"I have to piss." Tony replied nervously, smiling.

Daryl lowered his rifle, but kept an eye on Tony as he went to the wall.

"You got a farm?" Dave asked, looking from Rick to Hershel.

I looked over at Tony as I heard him peeing against the wall. Daryl was keeping an eye on him.

"Is it safe?" Tony asked from the wall.

"It has to be." Dave said. "You got food? Water?"

"You got cooze?" Tony asked, turning to glance at me. "I ain't had a piece of ass in weeks…seeing as how this one's taken…"

"What the fuck did you just say?" Daryl snarled, lifting his rifle again.

"Daryl." I murmured, trying to calm him down as the tension in the room continued to build.

"Pardon my friend, Daryl." Dave said, rubbing his forehead. "He has no tact."

"We've said enough." Rick said, keeping his cool with Daryl ready to blow a hole in Tony.

"This farm, it sounds pretty sweet." Dave glanced over at Tony. "Don't it sound sweet, Tony?"

"Yeah." Tony agreed, still peeing all over the wall.

"How about a little Southern hospitality?" Dave asked as Tony suddenly moved away from the wall. He sidestepped closer to the bar.

"You back away from her." Daryl growled. "You back away from her now."

"Easy, Daryl." Dave said, lifting his hands. "Listen, we have some buddies back at camp-"

"I said back away from her!" Daryl barked, motioning with his rifle. "Take as much booze as you want and get the fuck out! Now!"

Daryl suddenly whistled, and I did as I was told. I ducked behind the bar as I heard a gunshot. Tony was thrown back against the wall from the impact. He slumped over behind the bar, his blood already pooling towards me. I stayed down, scooting back to avoid the blood. I heard another gunshot, and then the sound of something shattering.

"Is everyone all right?" I heard Rick ask.

Daryl suddenly landed on the ground beside me in a crouch. He had jumped the bar.

"You okay?" He asked, looking me over.

"I'm fine." I said, moving to get up off the floor.

"You guys okay?" Rick asked as Daryl and I got to our feet.

"We're good." Daryl replied. "Holy shit."

"All right." Rick nodded, looking from us to Hershel. "Let's head back."

Daryl wrapped one arm around me as we walked towards the doors.

"You sure you're okay?" He asked softly, looking down at me.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I asked, meeting his eyes.

Suddenly we all heard the sound of a car running outside.

"Everybody get down." Rick hissed, crouching down beside the doors with Hershel.

"Stay behind me." Daryl muttered, pulling me down next to him on the other side of the doors.

I touched my gun, trying to breathe quietly as voices sounded from outside.

_"Dave? Tony? They said over here?"_

_ "Yeah."_

_ "Maybe they went somewhere else."_

_ "I'm telling you, man. I heard shots."_

_ "I saw roamers two streets over."_

_ "It's hot. We gotta get out of here."_

_ "Dave! Tony!"_

As the four men continued talking, I tried to press myself as flat against the wall as I could. Daryl felt me moving around. He glanced back at me, putting a finger to his lips. When I nodded, he reached out and stroked my cheek for a split second. He was trying to reassure me that everything was going to be okay.

A shadow appeared on the floor. Someone was standing in front of the doors.

Daryl moved back, his rifle ready. Rick slowly stood up.

The shadow moved. It got quiet, but there was some movement outside. The men were still in town, but they weren't creeping around the tavern like before.

Eventually, Rick crept over to where Daryl and I were.

"We can't stay here." Rick whispered. "Let's head out the back and make a run to the car."

Suddenly, there were multiple shadows on the floor. The men had returned. As the door opened, Daryl threw himself in front of it, keeping it shut.

_"What?"_

_ "Someone pushed it shut."_

_ "There's someone in there."_

_ "Hello?"_

_ "Is someone in there? If someone's in there, we don't want trouble."_

_ "We're just looking for some friends."_

_ "What do we do?"_

_ "We don't want trouble."_

_ "If something happened, tell us."_

"They drew on us!" Rick suddenly shouted.

_"Dave and Tony in there? They alive?"_

"No."

_"They killed them."_

"Your friends drew on us! They gave us no choice!"

As the glass above the doors shattered, I couldn't help but cry out.

"Daryl!"

Rick stood over Daryl, firing shots through the broken glass.

"Roslyn! Hershel! Get out of here!" Rick shouted as Daryl leapt to his feet, firing bullets alongside Rick.

I grabbed Hershel's hand as we ran towards the back of the tavern together. We broke away as Hershel dove around a corner and I slid under a table. There were too many bullets flying to risk running out. I drew my gun from under the table, aiming it at the doors.

It was quiet for a while. As Rick and Daryl reloaded, Rick tried to shout out to the men outside. I kept my gun aimed at the doors. It was shaking in my hands.

A noise from the exit got my attention. I looked back at the door.

"I'll go." I whispered weakly to Hershel.

I crawled towards the exit, ignoring Daryl as he hissed across the tavern at me. I pushed open the door slowly, peering into the back room before getting to my feet and scrambling inside. I pointed my gun into the dark, little room. When I heard a sound, my aim changed. I crept down the stairs, my eyes flickering all over the room for the source of the noises.

Suddenly, there were shadows near the back doors. The door knob turned.

Instinctively, I fired a single bullet through the glass. The moment I fired my shot, I heard Daryl calling out my name from the tavern.

"I-I-I-I'm all right!" I called out quickly, backing away from the back doors.

"She's fine!" Hershel called out from behind me.

I turned towards Hershel, glad to have someone in the back room with me.

"Rick wants us to try for the car." Hershel murmured, his eyes on the back doors.

"I…I can try." I breathed, glancing between Hershel and the back doors.

"You'll succeed." Hershel replied gently. "I'll watch out for you. I'll cover you."

I nodded. I chose to come with Rick and Daryl. I wanted to help. If Rick needed me to try and get the car, that's what I was going to do.

"If something happens, tell Daryl…" I looked down at the floor.

"Roslyn-"

"I shouldn't think that way." I murmured, heading to the back doors.

"I'll cover you." Hershel reinforced from beside me as I opened the doors.

"Okay." I exhaled loudly. "Here it goes."

I crept out into the alley, nervously walking towards the front of the tavern. I kept glancing all around me as I walked, my gun in hand.

Suddenly, a shot fired from behind me. I threw myself to the left between two trash bins. On the way down, my head collided with the metal bin I was closest to. I heard ringing in my ears as I leaned heavily on the bin, dazed. I tried to keep my grip tight on the gun. I hadn't noticed how heavily I was breathing until I closed my eyes and tried to focus. I could feel warmth dripping down the side of my face. I knew I was bleeding, but wasn't sure if it was a bullet wound or from hitting my head.

I heard voices close by, but couldn't make them out. They were getting closer.

"Roslyn!" A voice cried out.

I opened my eyes. I knew the man kneeling down in front of me. Though it had been seven years since I had last seen him, I knew him.

"Dennis?" I tried to focus on his face, but my vision was blurry.

"Just hang on, Roslyn." Dennis said, moving his arms around me. "I have you. You're okay."

I felt Dennis lifting me into his arms. Though I would have felt differently had I been all there, I allowed my head to loll heavily against his shoulder. My head was beginning to throb.

"You have to stay awake, Roslyn." Dennis told me as he walked.

"What the fuck is this?" An unfamiliar voice asked.

"She's my sister." Dennis replied, laying me down on an even surface. "She's going with us."

"Where the fuck are the others?"

"I don't know. I didn't see any others."

"Fuck him! Fuck him and his sister! Let's go!"

"What are you doing? Wait!" My brother shouted, his voice far away.

I decided to sit up. I did, and immediately regretted my decision. The world spun as though I were hungover, and I barely had enough time to lean away from myself to throw up. As I was emptying my stomach, I heard gunshots and the squealing of tires. Then, I heard a man screaming as tires squealed again.

When I finished getting sick, I tried to focus. There was a van parked right beside where I was laying. Suddenly, a familiar face poked out of the van.

"Sophia?" I squinted, trying to clear my vision.

"Roslyn!" Sophia cried, trying to get out of the van.

Suddenly, my brother returned.

"Get back in the van, Sophia. We're leaving." Dennis said sternly.

"Let go of her!" I shouted, stumbling as I got up. "Let go of her! I know her!"

I lifted my gun and fired a shot in Dennis' direction, trying to get him away from Sophia. Dennis threw himself to the ground, while Sophia backed up inside of the van.

"Baby!" I heard Daryl calling out to me.

I fell against the wall, sliding down it towards the ground. Before I could collapse onto the ground, there was an arm around my waist. I didn't have to open my eyes to know who it was.

"Daryl." I whispered, and then I blacked out.

0o0o0

I woke up with a start, breathing heavily as I tried to sit up. There were hands on my shoulders keeping me from doing that, as well as hands on my face. I settled for opening my eyes as I tried to regain my breath. I felt like I had been holding it for quite some time.

When I opened my eyes, I saw Daryl hovering over me. He was breathing just as heavily as I was. As my eyes opened, his face visibly changed. He seemed relieved.

"Sorry." He told me, his voice much deeper than usual. "I had to wake you up."

I realized that Daryl must have cut off my air to get me to wake up. I wasn't angry. Even if I wanted to be, I didn't have the energy to be. My head was throbbing even worse than before.

"Roslyn, take these." Hershel said from beside me, his hands leaving my shoulders.

"Open up, baby." Daryl said, his fingers gently pulling down on my chin.

I parted my lips so that Hershel could place two pills into my mouth. As I was about to swallow, Hershel poured water into my mouth to make it easier to take the pills. I gulped the mouthful down.

"Those should help with the pain." Hershel said. "Now that you're awake, I need to have a look at your pupils. It might be uncomfortable, but I need to see if they're dilated."

"Do it." I murmured, watching Hershel as he reached for something out of my line of vision.

Hershel gently held my eye open, and then suddenly, there was a bright light enveloping my sight. The throbbing in my head seemed to double as Hershel shined the light in both my eyes. I moaned as Hershel checked my other eye.

"Your pupils aren't dilated. That's a good sign." Hershel said, taking the light away. "You have a mild concussion. You'll need to stay awake for the remainder of the evening."

"Do I have to?" I protested, covering my eyes.

"Unfortunately." Hershel replied. "I have a cold cloth for your head. It should help soothe the pain. You can take this Ibuprofen every two to four hours."

"Thanks, Doc." I heard Daryl say from my bedside.

"Keep her awake, Daryl." I heard Hershel's footsteps moving away from me. "I'll be in to check on her later. Right now, I have to tend to the boy."

I heard the door open and shut.

"Move your hand." Daryl said gently, already tugging my hand away from my eyes.

I opened my eyes as Daryl laid a wet cloth over my forehead. When he had situated it, he sat down on the edge of the bed. He stroked my cheek. He was getting better with the softer touches.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Some guy shot at you when you left the tavern. When you fell in between the bins, you hit your had pretty hard. You were bleedin'. Hershel bandaged it up with what we could find here, but he'll have to stitch you up back at the farm." Daryl explained.

"Where are we?" I asked, looking around the unfamiliar room.

"A gas station." Daryl's hand left my cheek. "There were a whole bunch of walkers comin' into town after our little shootout. We couldn't risk stayin' in town, and with you and the other boy injured-"

"Other boy?" I asked, meeting Daryl's eyes.

"Some stupid kid the guys left behind. He tried jumpin' off the roof he was on, ended up impalin' his leg on a fence. Rick and Hershel wanted to bring him with us, didn't want to leave him behind. Hershel is workin' on the kid's leg now, tryin' to stop the bleedin' so he can fix the kid up at the farm."

"How long have I been out?"

"A while." Daryl reached for me again. "You weren't wakin' up. Hershel told me I had to wake you up, but you weren't wakin' up…"

I realized that Daryl was becoming emotional, which surprised me. I reached up to touch his face, wanting to soothe the feelings he was experiencing.

"I'm awake." I told him. "I'm all right."

"Roslyn." Daryl suddenly wrapped his arms around me as he laid down with me.

"It's okay, Daryl." I murmured, running my fingers through his hair as he pressed his forehead against my chest.

I just let Daryl hold me for as long as he needed to. I kept running my fingers through his hair as he held onto me. I thought he had fallen asleep until he shifted suddenly, lifting his head to look at me.

"You were brave, you know." Daryl said, resting his chin on my sternum.

"Brave?"

"It was brave of you to come with us. It was even braver to do what you did, checkin' out the back room at the tavern and tryin' for the car-"

"And failing." I muttered.

"Don't do that." Daryl sat up so that he could lean in closer. He held my face between his hands. "You tried with what little experience and skill you have, and you didn't get shot."

I saw blood on Daryl's shoulder, and grew concerned.

"You're bleeding." I said, reaching for his shoulder.

Daryl let go of my face to look at his shirt. He frowned.

"That's not my blood." He mumbled, looking back down at me. "It's yours."

I realized that it was bothering Daryl to think about me being hurt, so I quickly changed the subject.

"I had a pretty crazy dream." I said.

"You did?"

"I thought that my brother rescued me from the alley, and that he had Sophia with him." I laughed gently.

Daryl's frown deepened.

"Roslyn, that wasn't a dream."

"What?" I asked, my eyes widening.

"Dennis and Sophia…they're here."


	10. Makin' Love

_When You Say Nothing At All_

**Makin' Love**

**BlackRose851: **Thank you!

**scoobydoo0811: **Wow, from start to finish in one sitting? Well, thank you very much.

**FanFicGirl10: **It was kind of a last minute decision, but I'm glad you approve. As for Dennis, I haven't decided yet how long he'll be involved in the story. As of right now, he's not going anywhere. The boy that the gang found in town is still Randall. Here's your update!

**ScornedxRose: **Yes! They are alive! You'll find out Dennis' fate in this chapter.

**Leyshla Gisel: **Haha. Holy balls, indeed.

0o0o0

_"Roslyn!" I shouted, turnin' around to face the back of the tavern._

_ "I-I-I-I'm all right!" Roslyn called out._

_ I started towards the back room, but gunshots stopped me. I whirled around, firin' back._

_ "I'll be right back." Rick told me, movin' quickly towards the back of the tavern._

_ I glanced back, seein' Rick whisperin' to Hershel before Hershel headed into the back room where Roslyn was. A second later, Hershel called out that Roslyn was fine. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Rick rejoined me at the front of the tavern._

_ "What was that all about?" I asked, reloadin'._

_ "I told Hershel that he and Roslyn need to get the car." Rick said, reloadin' his pistol._

_ "What?!" I shouted._

_ More gunshots. Rick and I fired back._

_ "It's our only chance at getting out of here." Rick said, pressin' his back to the wall. "Hershel is going to cover Roslyn while she gets to the car. She'll be okay."_

_ In between rounds, I heard a gunshot sound from the back of the buildin'._

_ "Roslyn!" I shouted, headin' for the door to the back room._

_ "Daryl!" Rick shouted._

_ I busted through the door, aimin' into the room. I saw Hershel standin' by the back doors._

_ "What the hell happened?!" I shouted, crossin' the room to where he stood._

_ "Someone fired at Roslyn while she was in the alley." Hershel said, pointin' down the alley. "She was right there, but after I turned back, she was gone."_

_ "Gone?!" I shouted, shovin' the old man against the door. "What do you mean gone?!"_

_ Before the old man could answer me, I was runnin' to the garbage bins. I knelt down between them. The dirt was disturbed. There was blood runnin' down the side of one of the bins._

_ "Fuck!" I shouted, turnin' around to face the street._

_ Just as I turned around, a van pulled up the street. There were voices yellin' back and forth. I listened for Roslyn's voice, but didn't hear it. Instead, I saw some dumb kid jump from a roof. I heard the kid hit somethin', and then he was screamin'. The van pulled off without him._

_ "Wait!" I heard a guy shout, and then saw him runnin' after the van._

_ "Daryl!"_

_ I turned to see Rick comin' towards me._

_ "Did Roslyn make a break for the car?" Rick asked._

_ "I don't know." I said, movin' towards the street. "I'll check it out. Shut that kid up."_

_ I headed out into the street, but found the Jeep all shot to shit. I was about to curse, but heard a familiar voice just down the street. I turned. There was a second van pulled up to an alley. Before I could move, I heard a gunshot from that direction._

_ "Baby!" I shouted, runnin' for the alley._

_ As I reached the alley, I was only aware of Roslyn. She was slumped against a wall, slidin' towards the ground. I threw my rifle aside just in time to catch her before she could fall to the ground. She whispered my name once before goin' even limper in my arms._

When Hershel came to check on Roslyn, I left them to go and see what was happenin' with the dumb kid and Roslyn's dumb brother. I headed out into the front of the gas station. Sophia was curled up on the counter sleepin'. She was covered in Dennis' jacket. I didn't see Rick or Roslyn's dumb brother or the dumb kid, and headed outside.

Rick was standin' with Roslyn's dumb brother in the middle of the parkin' lot.

"What's goin' on?" I asked, walkin' up.

"Dennis was just informing me about the camp just outside of town." Rick said. "He says he doesn't know much about them. He only joined their group a few days ago."

"And you believe him?" I snorted.

Roslyn's dumb brother turned to look at me.

"Why would I lie about a potential threat against me or my sister?" Dennis asked.

"Since when do you give a shit about Roslyn?" I asked, movin' towards Dennis.

"That's enough, Daryl." Rick said, blockin' me from Roslyn's dumb brother. "We've had enough of a tough time tonight. Let's not fight just now."

I wanted to beat the shit out of Dennis. I hadn't gotten the chance before. I was too concerned about the girl bleedin' in my arms. I hated to admit it, but Rick was right. I would kick Dennis' ass later.

"Where's the dumb kid?" I asked.

"Do you mean Randall?" Dennis asked.

"I was talkin' to Rick." I snapped.

"I have no idea what your problem is-"

"My problem is you!" I shouted, lungin' at Dennis from behind Rick.

"Daryl!" Rick shouted, shovin' me back. "I said that was enough! Knock it off!"

I growled.

"Where's _Randall_?" I asked.

"He's handcuffed in the van." Rick said. "Hershel stopped the bleeding, but he'll need surgery."

"Why'd we even bring him with us?" I asked.

"Are you seriously thinking that we should have left him behind?" Dennis asked.

"Man, quit fuckin' talkin' to me!" I shouted.

"All right. That's it." Rick turned around. "Dennis, go for a walk. Please."

Dennis walked off quick, headed back to the gas station.

"Do you think it's smart to get into it with Roslyn's brother? Especially after everything that happened today? This evening?" Rick asked.

"You don't know the son of a bitch." I said.

"Neither do you."

"I know enough." I mumbled. "Roslyn told me all about that asshole."

"I mean it when I say that I sympathize with whatever happened between Roslyn and her brother." Rick said, settin' a hand on my shoulder. "Their history has nothing to do with you. You have to let them work it out."

"Roslyn doesn't want to see that son of a bitch."

"Did she tell you that?" Rick asked.

"Yeah."

Rick sighed and took his hand off my shoulder.

"Daryl, Dennis found Sophia. He's been taking care of her ever since." Rick said. "Sophia is pretty attached to him. He was barely able to get her to sleep without him around."

"So?" I asked. "Her mama's back at camp."

"Sophia has been through a traumatic experience." Rick said. "It might be good for her to have Dennis around. Besides, don't you think we owe him after he found Sophia and took care of her?"

"No."

"Well, don't you think _you_ owe him?"

"What?" I asked, gettin' angry.

"Dennis might have saved Roslyn's life. She could have-"

"Don't throw that in my face!" I shouted, gettin' angrier. "Don't use her against me like that!"

"Okay." Rick held up his hands. "I'm sorry."

I tried to calm down, but it was hard now that I was thinkin' about the things that could have happened to Roslyn. When I saw her blood on the bin, I thought she'd been shot.

"I didn't mean to upset you." Rick said. "I just wouldn't feel right about leaving Dennis behind after the things he's done for us, but I don't want to bring him back to camp if it's going to upset both you and Roslyn."

We stood there for a while.

"Let's make a deal." Rick said. "We'll bring Dennis back to camp with us for now. Give Roslyn some time to heal and get used to her brother being around. Give yourself some time to get used to her brother being around. If you both want him gone after that, I'll tell him he can't stay with us."

"Fine." I said. "But only for her. If she wants him gone, he's gone."

"Agreed." Rick said, offerin' his hand to me.

I shook Rick's hand.

"We should think about heading back. Everyone will be worried." Rick said. "I'll toss Randall into the backseat. Let everyone know we're leaving."

"Got it."

I headed into the gas station. Dennis was standin' near Sophia while she slept. He looked up when I walked in.

"Grab Sophia. We're leavin'." I muttered.

"All right." Dennis said, reachin' for Sophia.

"We're all being forced to ride in your van." I said, walkin' towards Dennis. "Just because you're in the same place as Roslyn doesn't mean shit. Don't talk to her. Don't even look at her. If you upset her in any way, I'll throw you out of the van while we're drivin'. Got it?"

Dennis just looked at me.

"I'll take it that you got it, 'cause if not, you're kissin' the pavement."

I went into the back. When I saw Roslyn's eyes closed and the old man takin' her pulse, I darted to Roslyn's side.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked, lookin' down at Roslyn.

"Nothing is wrong with her." Hershel said. "She's sleeping."

I glared up at him.

"You let her sleep?" I asked.

"I assure you she's fine." Hershel said, lettin' go of Roslyn's wrist. "She was showing signs of improvement. I told her it would be all right for her to sleep until I can get her stitched up."

"We're leavin'." I mumbled, gently movin' my arms under Roslyn.

"All right." Hershel said. "I'll have to perform surgery on Randall before I can stitch up Roslyn's laceration. When we get back to the farm, make sure she takes antibiotics. We don't want her getting any kind of infection."

I lifted Roslyn into my arms, movin' her so that her head leaned against my neck. Hershel got the door for me while I carried Roslyn out of the back.

"Daryl." Roslyn whispered, her breath ticklin' my skin.

"Go back to sleep, baby. We'll be home soon." I told her, carryin' her out the front.

Dennis was in the driver's seat. I got into the van, settlin' down next to Rick, who had Sophia sleepin' in his arms. Hershel settled in next to Dennis, givin' him directions to the farm.

As we drove, Rick looked over at Roslyn sleepin' in my arms. I nodded at Sophia in his. We both chuckled quietly so as not to wake the girls snoozin' in our laps.

0o0o0

I kept an eye on Dennis back at the farm. I sat in with Roslyn a lot too, but I didn't have to worry about her when I wasn't there. T-Dog, Glenn, and Dale had all been worried enough about Roslyn that they rotated in and out of her room when I wasn't there. Before, I might've been annoyed by their presence. It actually made me feel better knowin' that they cared about Roslyn like I did.

Carol and Sophia hovered around Dennis most of the time. He didn't seem to mind. I caught him lookin' at the house every once in a while. He was always askin' about Roslyn and askin' if he could see her. He never dared to ask me. He knew the only two answers I'd ever give him were either a big fuckin' 'no' or a fist to the face. Roslyn was right. He _was_ smart.

At first, Rick and Shane wanted to take Randall out to the middle of nowhere and let him go. I'd been all over that idea. Then, it turned out the dumb kid knew Maggie. Rick and Shane brought the dumb kid back. They kept him locked up in the barn.

"Daryl?"

Rick was walkin' up to me.

"What?" I asked.

"I was wondering if you would be willing to talk to Randall."

"What?" I asked again.

Rick didn't say anything, and I knew what he meant.

"Oh. You want me to _talk_ to him." I said.

"We need to know what we're dealing with-"

"I got it." I said. "I'll talk to Randall if you keep an eye on Dennis for me."

"Dennis?" Rick turned to look at Dennis. He was sittin' with Carol and Sophia. "Why do you want me to keep an eye on him?"

"He might try somethin'." I said, shruggin'. "Make sure he doesn't try to see Roslyn."

"Dennis hasn't tried anything at all. He's been really helpful around camp-"

"He's only been here for a day." I said.

"I'll watch him." Rick said.

"Thanks."

I headed to the barn. Shane was keepin' watch outside. When he saw me, he gave me a nod and walked off. I wondered why the bastard hadn't talked to the dumb kid himself.

I went inside the barn. Randall was tied to a chair.

"I remember you. You're-"

I lined up a punch with the dumb kid's nose. His head jerked to the side as he cried out. The moment he looked back at me, I hit him again. The second time, I drew blood. The third time, I drew enough blood that it sprayed back at me.

I paced back and forth while the dumb kid sputtered and whimpered. After I let him catch his breath, I hit him again. This time, I hit him hard enough that he toppled over onto the ground. The dumb kid started cryin' on the floor, tryin' to get up. He looked up at me, blood coverin' his face.

"You're gonna tell me everything." I told the dumb kid, hittin' him again as he laid there. "You're gonna tell me what I want to know. Then, I'll stop."

I hit the kid again. His head bounced off the floor.

"I told him-"

"You didn't tell him shit!" I shouted, hittin' the kid again.

The dumb kid spit out a mouthful of blood as I grabbed him by the shirt, jerkin' him up to sit against the barn wall.

"I barely knew those guys." The dumb kid whimpered. "I met them on the road."

"How many of you are there?" I asked.

The dumb kid didn't say shit. He just stared at me.

"Okay." I said, pullin' out my knife.

"No, no, no." The kid backed up against the wall. "Come on, man."

I jumped down beside the kid, stabbin' the floor. It scared him good. He cried out like I cut him.

"How many?!" I shouted.

"Thirty!" The kid cried.

"We know the camp is outside of town." I ripped the kid's pant leg, revealin' his wound. "Tell me where they're set up. How many miles out of town?"

"I don't know!" The kid screamed.

I scraped my knife against his wound.

"We were never anywhere for more than a night!"

"Plannin' on stayin' local?" I asked.

"I don't know. They left me." The kid said.

"Did you ever pick off a scab?" I asked, diggin' my knife into the wound. "You start real slow, sooner or later, you just gotta rip it off."

"Okay!" The kid yelped as I drew blood. "They have weapons, heavy stuff, automatics, but I didn't do anything!"

"Your boys shot at my boys." I growled, pullin' my knife away. "One of your boys shot at my girl. Your boys were gonna try and take this farm. You just went along for the ride? You're tryin' to tell me you're innocent?"

"Yes!" The dumb kid shouted, soundin' angry. "They took me in. I thought I'd have a better chance with them, you know?"

I stood up. I wiped my knife off on my pants before I put it away.

"…but, we go out, scavenge, just the men. One night we found a little campsite, a man and his two daughters. Teenagers, you know? Real young, real cute."

I turned around and looked back down at the kid. I knew exactly what the kid was sayin'.

"Their daddy had to watch while these guys…and they didn't even kill him afterwards. They just made him watch. They just left him there." The kid caught the look on my face, and got nervous again. "No, but I didn't touch those girls."

I thought about Sophia. We had been lookin' for her for a long time. I wondered if the men in that group touched her.

I thought about Roslyn. She and T-Dog had run into two men from that group in the woods. What if they wouldn't have killed them? What if the men had gone after Roslyn? I thought about the way that fat fuckin' bastard at the tavern had looked at Roslyn when he asked if we had women at camp.

_"How about you, sweetheart?"_

I launched a kick at the dumb kid, who yelped out like a dog. It just pissed me off more when the kid tried to defend himself. I kicked him again, connectin' my foot with his wound. I bent down, hittin' the kid in the face over and over again. I didn't remember how many times I hit him. I just remember hearin' the kid's nose break. The crunch brought me back to reality.

I left the kid sobbin' on the floor.

Rick and Shane were waitin' for me with the rest of the group.

"The kid has a gang of thirty men." I announced as I walked up. "They have heavy artillery and they ain't lookin' to make friends."

I looked over at Dennis, who stood when I walked up.

"But you knew that already, didn't you?" I asked him.

"What?" Dennis asked. "What are you implying?"

"I ain't implyin' anything." I snapped, takin' a step towards him before Rick cut me off. "I'm sayin' it right out. You knew all about that group, the fuckin' things they did-"

"What is wrong with you?" Dennis asked, walkin' towards Rick and I. "Are you that much of an inbred hillbilly that you make wild accusations…"

Dennis stopped talkin' when I tried to get around Rick to beat the piss out of him.

"That's enough!" Rick shouted.

Shane ushered most everyone away while I continued to try and get at Roslyn's dumb brother.

When everyone but Glenn and Dale had left, I threw Rick off of me. He held up his hands.

"How could you take Sophia back to that group?" I asked, glarin' at Dennis. "How could you take a little girl to that group of fuckin' animals? You were gonna take your sister back there! Your sister!"

"The only animal I see is you." Dennis snapped.

"Daryl, what are you talking about?" Rick asked.

"That fuckin' kid's gang," I pointed at the barn, "they're a bunch of fuckin' rapists!"

Rick's eyes widened as he turned to look at Dennis. Shane even looked digusted.

"What?" Dennis asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't act like you didn't know." I said, pointin' at Dennis. "Randall told me about what the men in your group do. They infiltrate camps and rape the women and little girls they find."

Dennis looked at Rick, then at Shane, then at Glenn and Dale. He looked at me.

"I…I didn't know." He said. "I was only with them a few days-"

"If they roll through here, we're dead." I said.

"All right." Rick threw his arms out. "No one goes near Randall."

"What are we going to do?" Glenn asked.

"Dennis, we need to talk." Rick said, walkin' off as he waved to Dennis.

I walked back towards the house. I didn't give a shit about anything. I didn't care what the group wanted to do. I just wanted to go and see Roslyn.

Maggie let me in. I went to the bedroom where Roslyn was restin'. She and T-Dog were sittin' in bed. They were laughin' about somethin' when I walked in. They both looked up at me.

"Hey." Roslyn smiled. "We were just talking about…"

I watched Roslyn's eyes drop to my hand. I looked down. My knuckles were bloody.

"What happened to your hand?" Roslyn asked, lookin' up at my face.

"…I'll leave you two alone." T-Dog said, gettin' off the bed. "Roslyn, I'll be back later."

T-Dog walked around me, shuttin' the door behind him.

"Daryl?" Roslyn was waitin' for an answer.

I went to the bed and sat down beside her. As if sensin' that I needed her, she wrapped her arms around me. She leaned her head on my shoulder. We sat that way for a while. I tried to keep the ugly thoughts out of my head. Normally, I would've jumped Roslyn or the other way around. It wasn't like that anymore. The ugly thoughts I had were about her gettin' hurt or worse.

"Will you let me clean that up?" Roslyn asked after a while.

"You don't gotta." I said.

"I want to." Roslyn said, liftin' her head to look at me. "Please?"

I let Roslyn tug me up the stairs towards the bathroom. She gently pressed on my shoulders, makin' me sit down on the toilet while she started the shower. When she turned back around, she surprised me by unbuttonin' my shirt. I was so surprised that I let her do it, movin' my arms out of the sleeves before my shirt fell on the floor.

Roslyn lifted my hand to her face. She kissed my knuckles.

"Stand up." She said, lettin' my hand drop.

I stood up, lettin' Roslyn undo my pants so I could take them off.

When my pants were off, Roslyn lifted her arms over her head. I surprised myself when I immediately pulled her shirt over her head. Things were comin' more natural the more time passed between us. Touches were softer. Words were gentler. Our relationship was changin', and so was I. What surprised me most was that I didn't mind.

When we were both undressed, we stepped into the shower together. Roslyn held my hand under the hot water. The blood ran off my hand. When it was clean, Roslyn kissed my knuckles again.

"Dennis?" Roslyn asked, holdin' my hand in front of her face.

"Dennis?" I asked.

Roslyn motioned to my hand. I chuckled as I moved my hand in her grasp, touchin' her cheek.

"No." I swept my thumb under her eye. "Randall."

"Randall?" Roslyn asked.

"Shh."

I moved closer to Roslyn, wrappin' my other arm around her waist. I pulled her to me.

"We won't think about them." Roslyn said, lookin' up in my eyes.

I shook my head. There was somethin' I wanted to try. I wanted to kiss Roslyn the way she had tried to kiss me before. I leaned in, lookin' in her eyes as I got close. I kissed her lips quickly, pullin' away to make sure I was doin' it right. Roslyn nodded for me to go on, so I did. I kissed her again, tryin' to be soft and sweet like she had been. It felt different, but it felt good. The longer we kissed, the better it got.

"I don't want to hurt you." I said when Roslyn's hands started wanderin'.

"Listen to me." Roslyn pressed her forehead to mine. "You won't hurt me. I promise."

I trusted Roslyn. I continued touchin' her softly. She seemed to enjoy it as much as I did. We were doin' what she said we would. We were learnin' together. For once, I didn't feel so stupid. Other people made me feel like a dumbass, but not Roslyn. She never made me feel that way.

Everything about our sex that day in the shower was different than the sex we'd had before. It didn't even feel right callin' it sex. It didn't hit me until afterwards, when Roslyn and I were holdin' each other under the hot water, but we had been makin' love. That must've been why I was smilin'.

0o0o0

"I'm goin' out to the camp." I said after Roslyn was settled in bed. "I'm gonna take down your tent and move your stuff into mine. I want it to be nice for you tomorrow."

"You don't have to do that." Roslyn said. "Why don't I come out and help you?"

"No." I sat down on the bed. "Hershel said you needed to rest. You can get up tomorrow."

"All right." Roslyn laid back on the pillows.

"I'll be in later." I leaned towards Roslyn, kissin' her on the forehead. "Take it easy."

I went out to the campsite to take down Roslyn's tent. I cleared her stuff out of it first, throwin' it all into my tent. When her tent was empty, I started to take it down.

"How is Roslyn?"

I looked up and saw Dale standin' next to the tent.

"She's fine." I said, pullin' out the stakes. "She's alone if you want to see her."

"I will later, but right now, I want to talk to you."

"Why?" I asked, standin' up.

"I'm concerned about your…_new_ _role_ in the group." Dale said, lookin' at me funny.

I knew what he meant. He meant what I did to the dumb kid in the barn. I chuckled.

"Man, I don't need my head shrunk." I said.

"You act like you don't care."

"That's 'cause I don't." I said, startin' to disassemble the tent.

"So live or die, you don't care what happens to Randall?" Dale asked.

"Nope."

"Then why not stand with me, try to save the kid's life if it really doesn't matter one way or another?"

"Didn't peg you for a desperate son of a bitch." I mumbled, pulling the frame out of the tent.

"Your opinion makes a difference." Dale said.

"Man, ain't nobody lookin' at me for nothin'."

"Roslyn does." Dale said. "Rick does. He trusts you. I'm looking to you right now."

"Rick looks to Shane." I said, rollin' up the tent.

"You cared about what happened to Sophia. You cared what it meant to the group." Dale said. "Torturing people, that isn't you. You're a decent man, so is Rick. Shane is…different."

"Why's that?" I asked, standin' up again. "'Cause he killed Otis?"

Dale's face changed. He came towards me.

"Did he tell you that?" He asked.

"He told some story how Otis covered him, saved his ass." I said while Dale nodded. "He showed up with the dead guy's gun."

It was somethin' I'd noticed right away, but hadn't shared. It was plain as day for anyone with two eyes and a brain in their head.

"Rick ain't stupid. If he didn't figure that out, it's 'cause he didn't want to." I shoved the rolled up tent I was holdin' into its bag. "This group is broken."

I shoved past the old man to take the tent up to the house. Glenn let me in, and I took the tent into the back where he told me to put it. I left it with other outdoor stuff. As I was headin' back out, I went to stop by Roslyn's room to see if she needed anything. Before I opened the door, I heard Dale talkin' to Roslyn inside.

_"…he thinks this group is broken."_

_ "Why would he not? There are few people who look to him for anything other than the game he catches when he hunts. The only time I've seen everyone in this group look to him for any kind of guidance was when Sophia was missing. Now that she's back, I'm sure everything will go back to normal."_

_ "Rick knows what Daryl is capable of. Carol knows. I know. More importantly, you know. That's why I'm asking you to convince him to help me save this poor kid."_

_ "Daryl is a good man. He's doing what he thinks is right. Just like you."_

_ "What about you, Roslyn?"_

_ "…I don't know, Dale. There's a part of me that says we should let him go."_

_ "What about the other part?"_

_ "The other part of me is afraid of what could happen if he brings his group back here. Those two men in the woods…they…"_

_ "I know, but how can we punish this boy for something that he may or may not even do?"_

_ "Dale-"_

_ "If we let this happen, what's to stop the group from deciding that your brother is a danger? What if Rick or Shane or someone else decides that Dennis should die?"_

_ "I really don't care."_

_ "Roslyn, you can't mean that."_

_ "Why not? You don't know anything about Dennis."_

_ "I know that he hasn't done anything worthy of being executed."_

_ "I'm not saying that I want anyone to…listen, before that night at the tavern, I didn't even know if my brother was alive or not. I really don't care what happens to him."_

I moved away from the door, and headed back outside.

0o0o0

At the end of the day, everyone was asked to meet at the house. We all stood around the living room. I stood behind the couch on which Roslyn was sittin'.When Dennis walked into the house, he stood on the other side of the room. I set my hand on Roslyn's shoulder. She covered my hand with hers.

"So how do we do this? Just take a vote?" Andrea asked. "Does it have to be unanimous?"

"How about majority rules?" Lori asked.

"Let's just see where everybody stands, then we can talk through our options." Rick said.

"Well, where I sit, there's only one way to move forward." Shane said.

"Killing him, right?" Dale asked. "I mean, why even bother to take a vote? It's clear which way the wind's blowing."

"Well, if people believe we should spare him, I want to know." Rick said.

"Well, I can tell you it's a small group. It's me and Dennis, and maybe Glenn."

"Glenn, what exactly are your thoughts and feelings regarding Randall, the man in question?" Dennis asked.

I rolled my eyes.

"I think Dale is pretty much right about everything all the time, but this-"

"They've got you scared." Dale said before Glenn could even finish.

"Is that true, Glenn? Has anyone used intimidation in order to silence your true thoughts and feelings regarding-"

"Give it a rest, Dennis." Roslyn snapped, usin' a snarlin' tone I had never heard come out of her before. "This isn't law school."

I squeezed Roslyn's shoulder.

"Glenn?" Dale asked, ignorin' the outburst.

"He's not one of us, and we've lost too many people already." Glenn said.

"Roslyn wasn't one of us, but we welcomed her into the group." Dale said. "Dennis isn't one of us, but here he stands amongst us, making this decision about another outsider."

"There's a difference, and you know it." Glenn said.

"How about you? Do you agree with this?" Dale asked, wavin' an arm at Maggie.

"Couldn't we continue keeping him prisoner?" Maggie asked Rick.

"Just another mouth to feed. It may be a lean winter." Hershel said.

"We could ration better." Lori said.

"Well, he could be an asset." Dale argued. "Give him a chance to prove himself."

"Put him to work?" Glenn asked.

"We're not letting him walk around." Shane said.

"We could put an escort on him." Maggie said.

"Who wants to volunteer for that duty?" Shane asked.

"I will." Dennis said. "I would gladly volunteer for that position if it meant sparing Randall's life."

"I'll take second shift." Dale said.

"I don't think any of us should be walking around with this guy." Rick argued.

"He's right. I wouldn't feel safe unless he was tied up." Lori said.

"We can't exactly put chains around his ankles, sentence him to hard labor." Andrea said.

"Look, say we let him join us, right? Maybe he's helpful. Maybe he's nice." Shane said. "We let our guard down, and maybe he runs off, brings back his thirty men."

My grip tightened on Roslyn.

"So the answer is kill him to prevent a crime that he may never even attempt?" Dale asked. "If we do this, we're saying there's no hope, rule of law is dead, there is no civilization."

"Could you drive him further out?" Hershel asked Rick.

"You barely came back this time." Lori said. "There are walkers. You could break down."

"You could get ambushed." I said.

"They're right. We should not put our own people at risk." Shane said.

"If you did it, how would you do it?" The Otis' widow asked.

"We would hang him, snap his neck." Shane said.

"I thought about that." Rick said. "Shooting may be more humane."

"What about the body?" T-Dog asked. "Do we bury him?

"Hold on." Dale said. "You're talking about this like it's already been decided."

"Dale is right. He and I haven't been given the opportunity to argue our case-"

"You both have been talking in circles all day." Shane interrupted Dennis.

"This is a young man's life, and it is worth more than a five minute conversation." Dale said. "Is this what it's come to? We kill someone because we can't decide what else to do with him? You saved him, and now look at us."

"I didn't even want to save the bastard." I said, takin' my hand off Roslyn's shoulder. "If it had been my decision, we would've left him and the lawyer over there back in town."

"Well, time travel has yet to be invented, you simple minded-"

"Enough!" Roslyn shouted, stoppin' me in my tracks as I moved to go at Dennis.

"This kid has been tortured. He's going to be executed." Dale said, once again ignorin' the argument. "How are we any better than those people we're so afraid of?"

"We all know what needs to be done." Shane said.

"Dale is right." Rick said. "We can't leave any stone unturned here-"

"What's the other solution?" Andrea asked.

"Let Rick finish." Lori said.

"We haven't come up with a single, viable option yet. I wish we could-"

"So let's work on it." Dale said.

"We are." Rick said.

"I'm so sick of everybody arguing and fighting." Carol said suddenly. "I didn't ask for this. You can't ask us to decide something like this. Leave me out."

"Not speaking out or killing him yourself, there's no difference." Dale said.

"That's enough." Rick said. "Does anybody want the floor before we make a decision?"

"I want to say something." Dennis said.

I rolled my eyes again.

"I may not have been with Randall's group for very long, but I have dealt with many criminals over the years. I know a criminal when I see one. Randall is no criminal. He is a young man who was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. If we choose to execute him, we will be executing an innocent, young man. We will have to live with that for the rest of our lives. The defense…" Dennis looked down suddenly.

"You once said that we don't kill the living." Dale said, pointin' at Rick.

"That was before the living tried to kill us." Rick said.

"If we do this, the people that we were, the world that we knew is dead. This new world is ugly. It's harsh. It's survival of the fittest." Dale said. "That's a world I don't want to live in, and I don't believe that any of you do."

I realized Dale was about to cry.

"Please, let's just do what's right." Dale looked around. "Isn't anyone else going to stand with Dennis and I?"

"He's right." Andrea said suddenly. "We should try to find another way."

"Anybody else?" Rick asked.

I saw Roslyn raise her hand out of the corner of my eye. I looked down at her.

"I would be willing to discuss other options." Roslyn said. "I'll even volunteer for guard duty until we find another solution."

No one else spoke up. I wanted to support Roslyn, but I also didn't want anything to happen with her should the kid turn on us. I couldn't raise my hand. I couldn't support the decision to spare the kid.

"Are you all going to watch too?" Dale asked, lookin' around at everyone. "No. You'll go hide in your tents and try to forget that we're slaughtering a human being. I won't be a party to it."

Dale walked towards the door. As he passed me, he looked over at me.

"You're right." He touched my shoulder. "This group _is_ broken."

Dennis moved to go after Dale, but Andrea grabbed his arm.

"Let him go." Andrea said. "You and I can go find him later."

We all stood and sat in silence. I looked down at Roslyn. I saw her shoulders shakin'. I barely set my hands on her shoulders before she stood up, headin' for the door. It slammed shut behind her.


	11. Blood On My Hands

_When You Say Nothing At All_

**Blood On My Hands**

**ScornedxRose: **Hahaha. I felt like I was watching Survivor when I read your review. You'll see what happens with Dennis and Roslyn when they officially speak for the first time in this chapter. I can assure you of one thing: Dennis truly does want to be with his sister. I wish I could keep Dale alive. I loved him. It broke my heart when he died. I just don't think I can write him into the story. To be honest, I only used Sophia as a reason for Dennis to be welcomed into the group. I'm so bad.

**FanFicGirl10: **Dennis isn't evil, but you're right, he's an asshole. You'll find out why Roslyn is angry/upset in this chapter!

**BlackRose851: **Thank you!

**Leyshla Gisel: **Um, I guess I'd just rather be safe than sorry. Some people on here can be sensitive, and I don't want my story to get taken down because it was rated wrong. There's cursing in my story, and I've also mentioned drugs and euthanasia. There's sex in it too. I don't know if you're asking because the sex scene in the last chapter wasn't very descriptive. It was because it was from Daryl's POV. He doesn't seem like the type to go into as much detail as Roslyn, for example. That's why chapters from his POV are slightly less descriptive. I'm sorry if I misled you with an M rating or anything. I truly didn't mean to.

0o0o0

I went for a walk after I left the house. I let silent tears streak down my cheeks as I walked, thinking about the meeting. I could see poor Dale's face in my mind. He had tried so hard to save Randall, and it had obviously devastated him when the group decided to go through with the execution. My decision to raise my hand in favor of finding a different solution didn't have anything to do with Randall. It had everything to do with Dale.

Dennis' actions had disgusted me. Though he had taken Dale's side, I knew the real reason he was fighting to keep Randall alive. My brother just couldn't give up the chance to argue one last case. I laughed angrily when I remembered his 'closing statement'. He had nearly finished it with 'the defense rests' before he caught himself. I saw through his act.

I sat down in front of Annette and Shawn's graves. I hugged my knees to my chest.

Suddenly, I felt something around my shoulders. I expected to look up and see Daryl, but it was Dennis who was standing over me. He had put his jacket around me. I shrunk out of it at the same time that I leapt to my feet.

"Get away from me." I growled, glaring up at my brother.

"Roslyn-"

Without thinking, I smacked Dennis across the face as hard as I could. I had never struck another person before, but it felt good to take my anger out on my deserving brother. As my slap connected with his face, I let the back of my hand fly across his other cheek. My second hit wasn't nearly as hard as the first, but I was satisfied with the handprint growing redder on his face.

Dennis didn't say anything. He didn't move. He just stood there, looking down at me. He was always looking down on me.

"Sorry that you didn't win your case, Mr. Gardener." I said coolly, breaking the silence.

"Roslyn, I was in law school before all of this." Dennis replied calmly. "I used what knowledge I had in order to spare Randall's life. How can you begrudge me that?"

"Do you really think that's the only reason that I hate you?" I snapped, seeing the surprise on my brother's face when I used the word 'hate'. "Yeah. I hate you."

"I don't see why." Dennis said, his hands on his hips.

"For an intelligent person, you're really stupid." I retorted angrily. "Do you have any idea what you put our family through? What you put Grandma and Grandpa through?"

"I knew you resented me for not coming when Grandma died-"

"You think that's the only reason?" I interrupted, my voice growing louder and angrier. "You left me. When you turned eighteen, you were gone. I was only fifteen, but I had to grow up so that I could take care of Grandma and Grandpa."

"I'm here now." Dennis replied quietly.

"Yeah. You're here _now_." I scoffed. "Where were you when Grandma fell in the shower and broke her leg? Where were you when we couldn't pay our bills on time? Where were you when Grandma died, and Grandpa's mind slowly withered away? Where were you then?"

"Roslyn, I had to get out of there." Dennis said, lifting his hands as though he wanted to touch me. "I had to get an education and make a life for myself."

"You don't think there are things I wanted?" I asked, pointing to myself. "You don't think I wanted to have just one, normal day as a teenager? Just one?"

"You should have gotten out. You should have been selfish."

"How could I ever afford to be selfish when you were too busy doing whatever the hell you wanted?" I asked, taking a step towards Dennis. "You may have been a hot shot in Boston, but this is one case you can't win. _You_ were wrong, and you have to live with that."

I walked away from Dennis, leaving him between the graves. As I started towards camp, I suddenly heard a man screaming in the distance.

I ran towards the screaming, pulling my gun from my waistband. As I ran, other members of the group appeared as they went in search of the source of the screaming too. Flashlight beams danced all over the farm as we ran towards the screams.

Daryl was there first, bolting ahead of the rest of us. Beyond him, I could see the form of a walker. It was on the ground, bent over a figure flailing beneath it. The screams were coming from whoever was pinned under the walker. As I heard Andrea calling out Dale's name from just behind me, I knew that the walker was attacking Dale.

Daryl tackled the walker, shoving it off of Dale and falling on top of it.

"Daryl!" I screamed, running for him as he wrestled the walker.

Before I could do anything to help, Daryl had already unsheathed his knife and stabbed the walker in the head. While he finished off the walker, I fell down beside Dale. His gut had been torn open, his entrails displayed over the front of his body. He was gasping in pain, his eyes wide and wild.

"No. Oh my god. No." I sobbed tearlessly. "Somebody help me! Help!"

My hands hovered over the gaping hole in Dale's torso. A hand caught my wrist, and I looked up at Daryl, who was kneeled down beside Dale.

"Don't touch it." He muttered.

I heard everyone's voices as they got closer. Rick told Daryl to get me away from Dale, so Daryl grabbed my shoulders, jerking me to my feet. He pulled me into his arms, keeping me from Dale as Rick kneeled beside the dying man.

Andrea kneeled over Dale as Rick and Shane shouted for Hershel.

"Don't look, baby." Daryl murmured, his hand trying to guide my face into his shoulder.

Hershel finally arrived as everyone crowded around Dale.

"What happened?" He asked, breathing heavily from the run.

"We have to move him." Rick said, kneeling down beside Hershel.

"He wouldn't survive the trip." Hershel replied mournfully, shaking his head.

"You can operate here." Rick said, already motioning for people around him to help.

"Rick…" Hershel shook his head as he and Rick stood together.

"No!" Rick shouted, kicking the ground as he realized that Dale couldn't be saved.

Everyone around me was crying, but I couldn't bring myself to. Dale needed us all to be strong. I pulled myself out of Daryl's arms, standing over Dale as he gurgled at Andrea. His gurgling soon became cries of pain as he continued to suffer on the ground.

I thought about my grandpa and the other residents. I imagined what they would have suffered had they gone without medication and proper medical care. They would have suffered like Dale was suffering. As I thought about what needed to happen, it seemed like everyone else was coming to the same conclusion as me.

I had blood on my hands already. I had killed those residents. I needed to be the one to put Dale out of his misery. Nobody else needed to know what that felt like.

I aimed my pistol at Dale's head, but an arm surrounded mine.

"It's okay, baby." Daryl mumbled, keeping me from taking my shot. "Let me do it."

I looked up at Daryl. He was telling me that it was okay. He was going to shoulder the burden of taking Dale's life so that I didn't have to.

Daryl pulled out his pistol, aiming it at Dale's head. Dale lifted his head to meet him.

"Sorry, brother." Daryl muttered, looking down into Dale's eyes.

Then, it was over. As the gunshot sounded, Dale's suffering ended.

0o0o0

The next morning, we all gathered around Dale's resting place. I stood next to Daryl, who had one arm wrapped around me. I felt numb as I looked down at the disturbed dirt where Dale was buried. I felt the same way I had after I had left the nursing home basement with Victoria. I was sure that someone could have shot me in the heart and I wouldn't have felt it. I could barely feel Daryl's body against me.

As Rick spoke, all I could think of was the events of the night before. I saw Dale's pain stricken face in my mind, from the meeting and during his horrible death.

When Rick's speech was finished, it was back to business.

"Roslyn?"

I looked up at Daryl. He was looking down at me, one eyebrow raised.

"What?" I asked, my voice sounding dead, even to my own ears.

"Some of us are goin' into the woods-"

"Okay." I interrupted, looking away from Daryl to stare at the fresh grave.

"Are you gonna be all right?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah." I replied.

"Roslyn?"

I looked back at Daryl. His blue eyes were trying to read mine, but I wasn't giving him anything. He realized that quickly, and shook his head, adjusting the crossbow over his shoulder.

"I'll be back later." He told me simply, taking his arm from around me.

I looked away from Daryl, and heard him walking away. When his footsteps faded, I sat down beside the grave. I ran my hand over the dirt. It was hard to believe that Dale was gone.

I don't know how long I was sitting there, but the light was changing as the day carried on without me, without Dale. My hand and fingers were stained with dirt from having been petting it for so long, but I didn't care.

"I came back for you."

I turned to glance back as Dennis approached me. I was too tired to care as he stood behind me.

"When all of this happened, I was in Boston. I was able to find a shelter, but I felt uneasy being there. At first, I thought it was because there were so many people there or something, but then I knew why I felt so anxious. It was because you weren't there with me."

I looked back down at the dirt as Dennis settled down beside me.

"I came back to Georgia for you." Dennis told me as he turned to look at me. "I planned on getting to Grandma and Grandpa's house. I figured you would be there with them, or there would be a note saying where you had gone if you weren't there. Then, I found Sophia in the woods…"

Dennis sighed, and I looked over at him.

"I guess I thought that…since I failed so horribly with you, I could get a second chance by looking out for Sophia."

"Right." I muttered, getting to my feet.

"Please don't go." Dennis said, getting up behind me. "Please don't shut me out, Rosy."

I whirled around, feeling the first emotion I had since last night. I pointed a finger at Dennis.

"Don't you _dare_ call me that." I snarled.

"What happened to him, Roslyn?" Dennis asked, ignoring my anger.

"Why do you care what happened to him?" I asked, walking towards Dennis. "Why did you even care what happened to me?"

"Did you have to do it, Roslyn?" Dennis asked calmly and quietly. "Did you have to kill him?"

I flew at Dennis in a rage, slamming my closed fists into his chest. He gripped my arms, holding me in place as I threw punch after punch into his torso. I didn't realize it right away, but as I punched Dennis, tears had begun falling down my cheeks. I grabbed onto Dennis' shirt with my fists, burying my face into him as I began to sob. Dennis wrapped his arms around me as I cried. I cried for the outbreak, I cried for the residents, I cried for my grandpa, I cried for Dale…I just let it all out.

Over time, my cries quieted. Dennis still held onto me.

"…guys?"

I let go of Dennis, wiping my face as I turned to see Maggie standing behind Dennis and I.

"Everyone is moving into the house." Maggie said, her eyes questioning.

"Okay. We'll be right up to help out." I told her, trying to fake a smile.

"Rick told me that if you aren't okay with me being here, I have to leave." Dennis said as Maggie walked away. "Do you want me to leave?"

I looked up at Dennis.

"You can stay." I told him, drying my eyes. "That doesn't mean that I forgive you. I can't. I don't trust you and I don't know if I ever will."

I walked away from Dennis, letting him think about what I had just said. I glanced back.

"Oh…and if you ever call Daryl a condescending name again, I'll let him hurt you."

0o0o0

I lugged my things and Daryl's things into the house. We didn't have much. Everyone else was already claiming bedrooms and spots in the front room and such.

"Hey." Maggie said, walking over to me.

"Hey." I replied, giving her a real smile. "You kind of walked up at a weird time. I'm sorry."

"It's been kind of a weird time for everyone." Maggie shrugged. "Do you know where you're setting up yet?"

"Not yet. Do you have a suggestion?"

"Yeah…my room." Maggie said with a smile.

"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "I kind of figured that you and Glenn…?"

"I offered, but he turned me down." Maggie said, her smile fading. "I don't know what I did, but he's been acting different ever since I told him…well, nevermind."

"Wait. What?" I asked. "What did you tell him?"

"Later." Maggie murmured, taking a step closer to me. "That is…if you'll room with me?"

"Sure." I replied. "Daryl and I will probably be on separate watches anyways. He won't miss me."

"Good." Maggie smiled again. "Let me show you where my room is."

Maggie showed me her bedroom. I put all of my things in there before I went back downstairs to set up a place for Daryl. I set him up underneath the dining room table. It was one of the only places left, and most everyone else was set up in the front room or in an extra bedroom. As I was getting out from underneath the table, Daryl's voice startled me. I hit my head on the table.

"Easy, girl." Daryl said, crouching down. "You don't need another concussion."

I leaned forward, pressing a kiss to Daryl's lips. He was surprised, but recovered quickly.

"What was that for?" He asked when we pulled apart.

"It was an apology kiss." I replied. "Is this going to be all right for you?"

"Where are you sleepin'?" Daryl asked.

"Maggie's sharing her room with me. I figured that since there's going to be a lot more patrols around here, we probably wouldn't be spending a lot of nights together anyways." Daryl nodded as I spoke. "That doesn't mean we can't have a sleepover every once in a while."

Daryl grinned.

"I came in to tell you that Rick and I are takin' Randall out."

"Okay." I replied. "I'll save you something to eat."

"Good." Daryl's grin widened.

"Be careful, all right?" I said, standing up at the same time as Daryl.

"I'll be careful." Daryl replied, pulling me into his arms.

"I'm serious." I told him, changing my tone to match my words. "Please be careful."

"Roslyn, I'll be careful." Daryl reassured me gently, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "I promise I'll be back later."

Daryl leaned down, kissing my lips quickly before he was already heading back out the door.

I finished setting up Daryl's place before I headed into the kitchen to help the ladies with dinner, but not long after we started preparing the meal, there were shouts from outside. We all rushed out onto the front porch to see what had happened.

"Daryl, what's going on?" I asked, approaching him as he got out of the truck.

"Randall's missin'." Daryl replied. "Stick with me. You got your piece?"

"Of course." I said, showing him my gun.

"Come on. The others are checkin' out the barn." Daryl mumbled, grabbing my hand.

We headed for the barn. Everybody was searching around it for any sign of Randall. As we were looking, the shouting started again. Shane was walking out of the woods, calling for Rick. His face was bloody.

"What happened?!" Rick called, running towards his friend.

"He's armed!" Shane shouted, meeting Rick halfway. "He's got my gun. The little bastard snuck up on me. He clocked me in the face."

"Everyone, get in the house." Rick said, turning to face the group. "Glenn, Daryl, come with us."

"Be careful, Daryl." I said, letting go of his hand so that he could load his crossbow.

"I will." Daryl murmured, moving one hand to the back of my head so that he could kiss my forehead. "You stay up at the house. Keep your gun close."

I nodded as Daryl released me. I watched him walk after Rick, Shane, and Glenn before I headed back up to the house with everyone else.

0o0o0

We all sat around in the front room. We didn't even bother with dinner. Nobody was hungry. We were all worried about the guys. They hadn't returned yet, and it was getting dark outside. T-Dog kept a reassuring arm around my shoulders as we stood together. My brother was sitting on one of the couches, Sophia in his lap. She was still maintaining her connection with Dennis.

"I'm going after them." Andrea said as the seconds ticked on.

"Don't. They could be anywhere, and if Randall comes back, we're going to need you here." Lori replied.

As if on cue, the front door opened. Daryl and Glenn walked through it, looking no worse for wear. When I saw Daryl, my heart leapt. He gave me a lighthearted wink, but the playful behavior ended quickly as Daryl looked around the room.

"Rick and Shane ain't back yet?" He asked.

"No." Lori replied.

"We heard a shot." Glenn said, looking as worried as Daryl.

"Maybe they found Randall."

"We found him." Daryl replied, shaking his head.

"Is he back in the shed?" Maggie asked.

"He's a walker."

"Did you find the walker that bit him?" Hershel asked, concerned.

"No. He wasn't bit." Glenn replied.

I grew cold, remembering the information Edwin had shared with me before fleeing the CDC. Of course Randall had turned into a walker. We all carried the disease in our veins.

The news seemed to confuse and worry the group. Rick had told me not to tell, but I felt like I had to. They needed to know what had happened to Randall.

"…would you please get back out there, find Rick and Shane?" Lori asked Daryl.

"You got it." Daryl replied with a nod.

"Thank you." Lori said, touching his shoulder as he headed for the door.

Before Daryl could walk through the door, everyone seemed to hear a sound outside at the same time. It sounded like several sounds at once. We all pushed through the front door. As I got onto the porch, I immediately saw the source of the noise. If I had been cold before, I froze upon seeing the herd of walkers heading straight for the farmhouse. It was the largest group of walkers I had ever seen.

"Oh my god." I breathed, watching the walkers stagger ever closer.

"Patricia, kill the lights." Hershel hissed, turning towards the woman.

"I'll get the guns." Andrea said, hurrying back into the house for the bag of guns.

"Maybe they're just passing through, like on the highway." Glenn said to Daryl. "Should we just go inside?"

"Not unless there's a tunnel downstairs I don't know about." Daryl replied. "A herd that size would rip the house down."

"What should we do?" I asked, looking away from the walkers.

"We have guns. We have cars." Hershel said, loading up a shotgun as Andrea passed out the guns she had brought outside.

"We kill as many as we can." Daryl said. "We'll use the cars to lead the rest of them off the farm."

"I'll stay here with the women until we find Carl." Dennis said from behind us. "I'll take the van."

Daryl jumped the porch. I thought he was leaving me behind for a moment until he turned around, holding out his hands to me.

"You're comin' with me." He said.

Daryl's hands found my waist. He pulled me up and over the railing. When he set me down, he grabbed one of my hands. We made a run for the bike as everyone else either followed or stayed behind to help look for Carl.

"Hold onto me, girl." Daryl said as he climbed onto the motorcycle. "Don't let go."

I straddled the bike, wrapping my arms around Daryl's torso. When I was situated, Daryl started up the bike. It roared to life, and we were off down the dirt path. I looked ahead as the barn suddenly burst into flames. Daryl brought the bike to a stop when he noticed the barn too. As we were stopped, Daryl pulled out his pistol and began shooting. I took my gun out too. My aim wasn't as precise as Daryl's but I took off several limbs with my shots.

From around us, others were popping off shots of their own. No matter how many walkers fell, it seemed like more appeared. I took the best twelve shots I could before I was out of bullets. I tucked my gun back into my pants, wrapping my arms back around Daryl's waist as he continued firing shots at the walkers as they stumbled through the fields.

When Daryl was empty, he situated himself quickly before he revved the bike and took off. I held on for dear life as Daryl zigzagged through the fields, avoiding walkers as they staggered past us. As we approached the trees, Daryl turned the bike around and steadied it with his leg.

"Why did this have to happen?" I asked quietly as we watched the chaos unfold.

"Somethin' was gonna happen sooner or later." Daryl replied, glancing back at me. "That's just the way things are now."

"We were just starting to experience some normalcy again."

"Girl," Daryl turned his head completely to look at me, "there ain't nothin' normal about this."

I knew he was right. I had been naïve thinking that things were going to go back to normal in a world where there were probably more walkers than humans.

I felt Daryl's hand on my thigh, but kept my eyes on the burning barn.

A screaming in the distance got Daryl's and my attention quickly. Without thinking, I climbed off of the bike. Daryl turned to look at me.

"What the hell are you doin'?" He asked, glaring at me. "Get back on the damn bike."

"You have to go back." I replied, ignoring his narrowed eyes. "I'll wait right here. I promise."

Daryl growled. His eyes flickered down to the knives at my waist, then back up at me.

"Stay put, or so help me Christ…" Daryl grumbled, revving the engine.

I watched Daryl fly up the dirt path in the direction of the screams. I pulled my hunting knife out, cautiously looking around for stragglers.

Suddenly, there was a groaning coming from behind me. I turned around as a walker stumbled out of the woods like a drunk man. The walker's arms were already snatching in my general direction as it began to snap its jaws. I waited for it to come to me, holding my ground. When it got close enough, I jumped at it, stabbing it in the head. I ripped the knife back out just as quickly. The walker fell to the ground.

I hadn't noticed it, being preoccupied with the walker, but there were headlights coming from behind me. I turned just in time to see the van careening towards me, taking out a few walkers that had been coming towards me. The van swung around, coming to a stop next to me.

"Get in!" Dennis shouted from the driver's seat.

I climbed into the front seat as Sophia scooted over. Before I could shut the door, Dennis was driving across the fields towards the dirt path. The force slammed the door shut for me.

"Where's Carol?" I asked, putting my knife away.

"We got separated." Dennis murmured, focusing on the road.

It was then that I noticed Sophia was silently crying beside me. I put a reassuring arm around her shoulders.

"Don't worry, Sophia." I told her softly. "Daryl went back to make sure everyone got out."

Sophia continued to sniffle next to me until she fell asleep on my shoulder. I kept my arm around her as Dennis sped through the woods.

"Where should I go?" Dennis asked.

"The highway." I replied.

"Are you sure?"

"Is there some other place you had in mind?" I snapped tiredly.

It was quiet then. The light began to change as the sun slowly rose. By the time we reached the highway, it was completely light. I could see Rick, Carl, and Hershel standing out on the road. We pulled up next to their truck. I laid Sophia down on the seat before I got out to meet them.

"Are you all okay?" Rick asked as Dennis and I approached them.

"We're fine." I said. "Did any of you happen to see Carol?"

All three shook their heads.

"Hershel, I'm sorry to tell you that Patricia was overtaken." Dennis said.

"Patricia?" Hershel asked worriedly.

"She was grabbed by walkers when she and some of the others made a run for the cars." Dennis explained. "I was getting Sophia into the van when we got separated from the others by a wall of walkers. I drove right through them."

Hershel didn't say anything, and I knew he was thinking of his daughters.

"Daryl?" Rick asked, looking at me.

"He went back to the farm. We heard screams." I told him.

Just as I finished my sentence, I heard the familiar sound of a motorcycle approaching. I turned to see Daryl riding up with Carol on the back of his bike. The minute our eyes met, he brought the bike to a violent stop. Carol jerked visibly. Though her hands were still at his waist, Daryl leapt off of the bike.

I walked away from the others towards him as Daryl ran towards me. In a single motion, he wrapped his arms around me and lifted me into the air. I was glad to see him safely on the highway, and returned his embrace just as fiercely. I buried my face into his neck.

"I thought I told you to stay put, girl." Daryl mumbled into my skin.

"I'm sorry." I whispered, reveling in Daryl's touch as the other cars pulled up.

Daryl lifted his head, but only to kiss me. The way his lips moved against mine suggested that he wanted to kiss me more deeply than he was allowing himself to. I pressed my lips to his over and over again until Daryl's body relaxed against mine. When he felt better, I let go of him as he set me down on my feet.

"Hey!" I called out to T-Dog, jogging towards him.

"Thank god." T-Dog said as we hugged. "I got worried when Daryl found us and you weren't with him."

"I was worried about you too." I replied, pulling away to smile at T-Dog. "I'm glad you're safe."

"Hey." Glenn said, walking over to us. "What about me?"

"I'm glad you're safe too, Glenn." I laughed, giving him a hug as well.

As we pulled apart, I saw a walker staggering towards our group. Before I could warn any of them, there was an arrow in its eye. I glanced back to see Daryl standing a few feet away.

I went over to the walker to retrieve the arrow as everyone piled back into their vehicles. I took the arrow back to Daryl, who had already started up the bike. He took the arrow from me while I climbed aboard, wrapping my arms around his waist.

"You all set, girl?" Daryl asked, looking back at me.

"I'm all set." I replied, tightening my grip on him.

Daryl ran his hand over my folded hands, giving me a faint smile before he followed the other cars to wherever we were going next.


	12. Blow Up

_When You Say Nothing At All_

**Blow Up**

**FanFicGirl10: **I don't know if I would ever forgive Dennis either. He and Roslyn definitely won't patch things up any time soon, if ever. I liked Dale too. I was upset when he died. For a while, I flirted with the idea of Roslyn getting separated with Andrea. In the end, I decided against it. Like I said, don't worry about Carol. In this particular story, she has no romantic feelings for Daryl. Here's your update!

**BlackRose851: **Thank you! It can be difficult at times to weave Roslyn into the story. I'm glad that you think I'm doing a good job.

**Amanda: **Thank you!

**ScornedxRose: **You're right. The last chapter was kind of rushed. Part of that reason might be because it's from Roslyn's POV, so certain things that happened were left out since she wasn't around for them. The other reason is this: it can be hard for me at times to rewrite scenes straight from the episodes. It becomes boring and monotonous. I've had to take a break from writing because I was just so frustrated with having to rewrite scenes almost word for word from the episodes so that the story runs true to the show. I'm really looking forward to writing what happens to the group over the fall/winter. That way, I have complete control over what happens. We'll see how everyone reacts to the news!

**Candace: **I can relate. There have been many late nights for me reading stories. I'm glad you enjoy mine.

0o0o0

We rode ahead of the others, leading the way, to where I didn't know. It was surreal to think that just the day before, our group had been moving our things into Hershel's house. I tried not to dwell on it. Daryl was right. Sooner or later, something would have happened to push us out of the farm. We were just lucky that it hadn't happened in the dead of winter.

A honking from behind us caught my attention. I glanced back as the SUV and truck pulled over to the side of the road. Daryl guided the bike to the side of the road before turning it off. I let go of him as he stood and turned around. Everyone was getting out of their vehicles, guns in hand.

"You out?" Daryl asked as Rick walked up the road.

"Running on fumes." Rick replied.

"We can't stay here." Maggie said as everyone collected into a group next to the vehicles.

I climbed off the bike to stretch my legs.

"We can't all fit in one car." Glenn said.

We'll have to make a run for gas in the morning." Rick decided, turning to face the group.

"Spend the night here?" Carol asked, her arm around her daughter.

"We can't just sit here with our asses hanging out." Maggie argued.

"Watch your mouth." Hershel hissed paternally at Maggie.

"All right. We'll set up a perimeter." Rick said, facing the woods all around us. "In the morning, we'll find gas and supplies. We'll keep pushing on."

"Glenn and I can go make a run now, try and scrounge up some gas." Maggie offered.

"No. We stay together." Rick replied. "God forbid something happens and people get stranded without a car."

"Rick, we're stranded now." Glenn said.

"I know it looks bad, but we've been through hell and worse, but at least we found each other."

"Rick is right." Dennis spoke up from beside Carol and Sophia. "There is safety and strength in numbers. We need to remain together and united."

"We're together." Rick agreed. "We keep it that way."

I agreed with Rick. I didn't feel comfortable splitting off from everyone else, at least not until we had regained some stability. Though I wouldn't admit it aloud, my brother was right too. I had always been the safest when with the group.

"We'll find shelter." Rick continued. "There's got to be a place."

"Rick, look around." Glenn said, clutching his gun. "There's walkers everywhere. They're migrating or something."

"There has to be a place, not just where we hole up, but that we fortify, hunker down, and pull ourselves together." Rick said, growing either more passionate or more frustrated. I couldn't tell. "I know it's out there. We just have to find it."

"Even if we do find a place, and we think it's safe, we can ever be sure." Maggie said. "Look what happened with the farm. We fooled ourselves into thinking that was safe."

"We won't make that mistake again." Hershel replied, having total confidence in Rick.

"We'll make camp tonight, over there, off the road." Rick said, motioning to a stone wall. "We'll get on the road at the break of day."

"What if walkers come through?" Beth piped up, sounding terrified. "What if another group like Randall's comes across our camp?"

"You know I found Randall, right?" Daryl suddenly asked Rick. "He had turned, but he wasn't bit."

Rick immediately looked over at me. The look between us was not lost on the rest of the group, especially Lori. She fought her way to the front where Rick and I stood, her arms crossed over her chest.

"What?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at Rick and I. "What is going on?"

I glanced over at Daryl, who was giving me a questioning look. I looked back over at Rick. I had planned on telling the group back at the house before all hell broke loose, so I gave Rick a nod. I hoped that the fallout, if there was one, would be minimal.

"We're all infected." Rick announced quietly.

"What?" Daryl asked, taking a step towards Rick and I.

I looked away from Daryl at Rick. I was going to come clean about the secret he and I had been keeping. Before I could tell the group what happened, Rick spoke.

"Jenner and I spent some time alone together the night we stayed at the CDC." Rick said, looking at everyone's confused faces. "He told me that we all carry the disease, whatever it is."

Lori was glaring daggers at me.

"Is that true?" She asked icily.

"No," I looked over at Rick before meeting her glare, "it isn't. Rick is just covering for me."

Daryl's questioning look had slowly turned into one of anger. It was hard to look at him.

"When we were escaping from the CDC, Edwin told me that we were all infected." I explained, looking away from the anger on Daryl's face. "I confided in Rick, but he and I both decided that it was better to keep that information from all of you."

"Why?" Carol asked.

"Would it have made a difference?" Rick asked, standing by my side.

"That wasn't your call." Glenn snapped, but his expression didn't match. He looked scared. "When I found out about the walkers in the barn, I told everyone."

"I thought it best people didn't know." Rick replied. "It was my decision."

There wasn't anything else to say. Rick turned and walked off while I stood alone. Daryl walked away, shaking his head as he stepped over the guardrail. Lori breezed by me, shoving my shoulder as she went after her husband. I met Glenn's eyes, but he just shook his head and walked off with Maggie. I turned to T-Dog. He was staring at the ground.

"T," I walked towards him, "T, I'm sorry."

T-Dog didn't say anything. He kept staring at the ground.

"You should be sorry." Carol murmured.

I looked over at Carol, who was clutching Sophia.

"Carol-"

"There's nothing that you can say." Carol interrupted. "What you and Rick did…"

"Carol, that's enough." Dennis said calmly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Why don't you start unloading the camping supplies from the cars? I'll help you in a minute."

Carol looked up at Dennis for a moment before doing as he suggested. She took Sophia with her.

"You don't have to stick up for me." I said to Dennis as he looked over at me. "If people are going to be angry with me, there's nothing you or I can do to stop them. Why waste your breath?"

"You're my sister." Dennis replied simply.

I watched Dennis go to Carol and Sophia to help them. Hershel and some of the others had the same idea.

I thought about going after Daryl, but that was before I saw Rick and Lori. Lori was bent over at the waist, and when Rick tried to touch her, she shoved him away. He tried to touch her again, but she kept backing away from him like he was a walker. She finally just walked away completely, heading towards the cars and everyone unloading the camping supplies. Rick needed me more than Daryl, and would probably be more receptive.

I went to Rick.

"Are you all right?" I asked him quietly, glancing back at Lori as she started helping the group.

"I don't know what just happened." Rick mumbled.

"Is she angry with you about keeping the secret from her?"

"No." Rick shook his head as he rubbed the back of his neck. "That isn't it."

"What is it?" I asked softly, stepping closer to Rick.

"It's Shane." Rick replied.

"Shane?" I quirked an eyebrow. "What about Shane?"

"I killed him." Rick said, looking up from the ground to meet my eyes. "I killed Shane."

"I'm sure you had good reason to." I replied without missing a beat. Rick seemed surprised. "I know what it's like to have to put someone out of their misery."

"Shane wasn't dying."

"You don't have to tell me what happened." I said, crossing my arms over his chest. "I was stumbling through this world before your group found me. You've shown me that you're a good leader. I haven't questioned your decision or your motives thus far, and I'm not going to start now."

Rick clenched his jaw. He gave me a single nod.

"I'm going to help everyone set up camp, if they'll let me." I said.

"They'll come around." Rick replied. "If they don't…"

"We'll see."

0o0o0

I chose to quarantine myself after everyone gave me the silent treatment while I helped them unpack and set up camp. As the light died, and they all sat around a fire, I stood by the stone wall. Rick had given me twelve more bullets for my pistol. I held it in one hand as I stood away from everyone else.

When I heard leaves crunching behind me, I hoped it was Daryl coming to talk to me. Instead, it was T-Dog. He came and stood beside me, hands in his pockets.

"I'm not mad at you." T-Dog said. "It's just been a hell of a day."

"Okay." I replied with a nod.

"I can't speak for everyone else, though." T-Dog muttered, glancing back at the group for a moment. "Carol is trying to talk Dennis into taking her and Sophia away. I heard Maggie telling Glenn that they should take their chances on their own too."

"They're allowed to do whatever they want." I said with a shrug.

"Damn." T-Dog shook his head.

"What?" I asked, looking over at him.

"One of the reasons I liked you so much is that you seemed kind of untouched by all of this." T-Dog said, turning to face me. "You made me feel normal. I liked that."

"I was stupid."

"I liked you that way." T-Dog shrugged. "Now, you're just like the rest of us. It's kind of sad."

I didn't know what to say. I knew that T-Dog was right. I had changed somewhat, but only because I had to. The world around me had changed against my will. Changing the way that I viewed it and survived in it had been my choice, but a necessary one.

"If you want to come sit by the fire, you can sit with me." T-Dog said, patting my back. "I won't give you any shit."

"Thanks." I mumbled.

Suddenly, there was commotion behind us. The group had all gotten to their feet.

"Walker." Glenn said, pointing into the woods.

"We need to leave." Carol shrieked. "What are we waiting for?"

"It came from over there." Maggie said beside Glenn.

"The last thing we need is for everyone to be running off in the dark." Rick said suddenly, joining the group. "We don't have the vehicles. No one is traveling on foot."

A branch snapped. I jerked my head in the direction the sound came from.

"I'm not sitting here waiting for another herd to blow through." Carol announced.

"Then leave." I snapped suddenly, visibly surprising everyone, including myself.

"No one is going anywhere." Rick hissed.

"D-Do something." Carol stuttered nervously.

"I _am_ doing something!" Rick shouted angrily. "I'm keeping this group together. I've been doing that all along, no matter what. I didn't ask for this! I killed my best friend for you people for Christ's sake!"

Not everyone took the news as well as I had.

"You saw what he was like, how he pushed me." Rick said, his voice growing quieter. "He staged the whole Randall thing, led me out to put a bullet in my back. He gave me no choice. He was my friend, but he came after me. My hands are clean."

Carl was crying in his mother's arms.

"Maybe you people would be better off without me." Rick said, looking all around at the blank stares. "Go ahead, but I say there's a place for us. Maybe it's a pipe dream. Maybe I'm fooling myself again. Why don't you go and find out for yourself? Go on. There's the door. You can do better? Let's see how far you get."

I looked over at Carol. When she met my eyes, she looked away.

"No takers?" Rick asked. "Fine, but let's get one thing straight: you're staying, this isn't a democracy anymore."

Without another word, Rick walked off into the woods.

"I told you it was a good idea to go." Carol murmured to Dennis.

"Then go." I said, turning to face her. "Rick just gave each of you the opportunity to go. If you don't like the way that things are around here, then go, but don't sit here threatening to leave. Nobody is going to stop you-"

"Roslyn." Dennis interrupted, giving me a warning look.

"What?" I snapped. "I'm just telling her to go since this is the umpteenth time she's said something about wanting to leave."

"Everyone has had a trying day."

"Exactly." I bit back. "_Everyone_. So why is Carol so special?"

"This isn't like you, Roslyn." Glenn suddenly murmured from beside Maggie.

"I'm tired of keeping my thoughts and feelings contained because I don't want to cause problems within the group." I replied, turning towards him. "The way I see it, there are enough problems right now that my speaking my mind isn't going to make one bit of difference."

Nobody said anything, not even Dennis.

"You people make me sick." I laughed tiredly. "Do any of you think that being a leader is easy? Rick has had to make tough decisions, and he's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. It's a wonder the man hasn't…"

I shook my head, remembering Carl as he sniffed in Lori's arms. I looked over at Carol.

"You stand here and threaten to leave because you don't like the way that Rick leads our group, yet you also stand there and beg him to 'do something'." I pointed a finger at Carol. "Let me ask you something. When is the last time that you did anything useful other than laundry?"

"Roslyn, that's enough." Dennis told me, authority thick in his voice.

"When your daughter went missing, did you go out and look for her even once?" I asked, watching as Carol began to cry silently. "No. All you did was stand around and complain while _other_ people went out looking for _your_ daughter."

"Roslyn!" Dennis shouted.

It was quiet then. Everyone was either looking at me or down at the ground.

"Before I got to the CDC and ran into this group, I was living in the basement of my grandpa's nursing home. Myself and a friend were taking care of twelve senior citizens. When the medicine ran out, we had no choice but to…to euthanize them. All of them." I murmured as several sets of eyes watched me. "I know what it's like to carry the burden of having to kill someone in these dark times. Rick doesn't need all of you people criticizing his every move, especially when all he's trying to do is help us."

Still, it was quiet. Daryl was looming in the shadows, watching me as I spoke.

"My life got a whole lot better after joining this group." I put my gun into my pants. "If Rick thinks that we should try to find a permanent home, that's what I'm going to help him do. It beats the situation I was in before all of this."

With that, I walked off into the woods. I didn't want to be around the group, and I had a feeling that they didn't want to be around me either. If they could, they probably would have voted me out. Daryl might have even cast a vote to let me go. I wouldn't have blamed them for hating me, but their anger towards Rick was completely uncalled for. Though I probably could have aired my feelings in a better way, I was glad that I had finally spoken up. I felt like I could breathe again.

"What was that?"

I turned around to see Daryl following me into the woods.

"Do you disagree with anything I just said?" I asked, waiting for Daryl to catch up.

"No." Daryl muttered, pausing a few feet away. "It's just not like you to blow up on people."

"Everyone has their breaking point." I replied with a shrug.

"That's right." Daryl agreed with a nod.

"So…you're talking to me now?" I asked, folding my arms over my chest.

"I guess." Daryl replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm still pissed at you for not tellin' me."

"Daryl," I sighed, "when I told Rick, he asked me not to tell anyone."

"So I'm lumped in with the rest of them?" Daryl scoffed.

"No." I replied quickly. "Honestly, I pushed that secret to the back of my mind and forgot all about it. When you told us that Randall had turned, but hadn't been bitten, I remembered what Edwin told me. I was going to tell all of you then, but then the herd passed through…"

"You sure?" Daryl asked, raising an eyebrow.

I closed the gap between Daryl and I.

"Daryl, if I could go back, I would tell you." I murmured, looking up at him. "I trust you. Me not telling you has nothing to do with that. I was just honoring Rick's request."

I realized that the look on Daryl's face had changed from earlier that day. He wasn't angry. He was genuinely hurt that I hadn't confided in him like I had in Rick.

"I'm sorry." I said softly, lifting a hand to Daryl's face.

"I don't want there to be secrets between us." Daryl replied, leaning into my hand.

"Fair enough."

Daryl lifted a hand to my face. The hurt in his eyes was slowly melting away.

"Is there anything you want to tell me?" Daryl asked, stroking my cheek.

"Dennis and I talked a few times back on the farm." I replied, wanting to share everything with him. "Other than that, I don't think so."

"Okay." Daryl nodded, removing his hand from my face.

"So…can I sleep in your tent tonight?" I asked, smiling. "I don't think anybody else would let me bunk with them after my outburst back there."

"Welcome to the group." Daryl said with a grin, looping an arm around me as we walked back towards camp.

"Group?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You and I…we're the most hated people in this group."

"At least we have each other." I said, smiling up at Daryl as his grip on me tightened.

0o0o0

In the morning, I woke up early to join the group going out for a gas and supply run. It was me, Daryl, Glenn, and Maggie. Everyone else stayed behind to break down camp and pack up the cars.

"Guys, I have something I want to say." I said to Glenn and Maggie as we walked along the side of the road. "I'm sorry about blowing up last night. I've been holding a lot of feelings in about things that have happened, and I guess everything just came out all at once."

For a moment, neither of them said anything. I thought maybe they were still angry, but then Maggie glanced back at me with a soft smile.

"We're sorry too." She said before turning back around. "We all should have banded together after what happened on the farm instead of crumbling."

I felt better until Glenn looked back at me.

"Why did you guys have to keep it a secret that we were all infected?" He asked.

"Rick thought it would be better to keep it quiet. He didn't want to scare anyone." I replied.

"I still don't-"

"Back off, Koreaman." Daryl snapped, turning his head to glare at Glenn. "Rick and Roslyn explained themselves last night. She don't need to explain anymore."

I thought Daryl and Glenn might argue, but Glenn burst out laughing suddenly.

"What?" Maggie asked, smiling over at Glenn.

"That's the first time Daryl has acknowledged that I'm not Chinese or Japanese." Glenn laughed.

Maggie immediately began to laugh along with Glenn, and after a moment, so did I. I could see Daryl's shoulders shaking, and knew he was chuckling to himself about it too.

We walked until we found a gas station. There were a few stranded cars in the parking lot.

"Roslyn and Maggie, head inside and scrounge for supplies." Daryl said as we grouped together in the parking lot. "Glenn and I'll siphon gas."

"All right." Maggie nodded before heading for the store.

I caught Glenn's sleeve before he could walk away from me. I held out my hand.

"Truce?" I asked with a tentative smile.

"Truce." Glenn said, shaking my hand as my smile widened.

I followed Maggie into the store, opening the pack I had taken with me. I selected canned goods while Maggie raided the aisle containing medical supplies.

"So what's going on between your brother and Carol?" Maggie asked, looking up at me.

"What do you mean?" I asked, shoving cans into my pack.

"I mean…they seem _close_." Maggie replied, tossing bandages into her bag. "Do you think they're…you know…a thing?"

"I don't know."

"How old is your brother?" Maggie asked.

"He turned twenty six in May."

"You're twenty one, right?"

"Twenty two." I replied, heading into another aisle to scrounge for food.

"Glenn told me-"

"My birthday was yesterday." I interrupted, tossing a can of soup into my pack.

"Your birthday was yesterday?" Maggie asked, smiling up at me. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Do you remember what yesterday was like?" I asked with a mirroring smile.

"True." Maggie agreed, shoving a bottle of Advil into her bag.

Maggie and I continued raiding the store. After a while, she ducked out to check on the guys. I continued filling my pack until there was no more room. By the time it was completely full, the three from outside came inside.

"Let's eat a little something before we head back." Maggie suggested, setting her bag down.

"There's a few of those microwaveable soups in that aisle." I pointed. "Maybe they have a microwave in the back or something."

"I'll come with you." Maggie volunteered, helping me carry the soups into the back.

After we microwaved four soups, we returned to the front of the store. Daryl and Glenn were sitting on opposite sides of the counter. Maggie and I sat down next to each other on the floor.

"Are you going to apologize to Carol?" Maggie asked, sipping on her tomato soup.

"If she'll let me." I replied. "Carol has gotten under my skin a few times, but I shouldn't have been so mean when expressing my feelings. I especially feel bad for doing it in front of Sophia."

"You were upset." Daryl shrugged, knocking back his soup.

"That's no excuse."

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Daryl said, throwing his empty soup container across the store. "Carol can get the hell over it. It's about time someone gave that woman some tough love."

"All I know is that Lori, Carol, and even Beth need to learn how to shoot." Glenn said.

"Agreed." Maggie nodded. "I'm going to teach Beth once we get settled somewhere."

"Lori won't be able to do much." Daryl snorted. "I can't believe that woman has a bun in the oven."

"It is what it is." Glenn shrugged.

When we finished eating, we headed back out with the gas and supplies we had collected.

Back at the stone wall, the camp had been packed up. Everyone was either sitting in the vehicles or standing guard on the side of the road.

"I'm going to try and talk to Carol before we head out." I told Daryl.

"Why do you care?" Daryl asked.

"I'm going to try and be more open and honest about how I feel, but I still don't want to be the source of drama in this group." I replied. "There's an appropriate way to say things and there's an inappropriate way to say things. My approach last night was the latter."

"Good luck." Daryl shook his head, taking my pack.

I went over to the SUV. Carol was sitting inside of it with Sophia. When she noticed me, she looked away from me quickly.

"Get away from her."

I turned to see Lori glaring at me.

"I was just trying to-"

"Just trying to what?" Lori snapped, stomping towards me. "Just trying to humiliate her in front of her own daughter again? Just trying to say hurtful things to her in the hopes that you'll drive her away?"

"That wasn't my intention." I replied.

"What was your intention, then?" Lori asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "You said that you're disgusted with all of us? I'm disgusted with _you_. You haven't been part of this group from the beginning. How dare you judge any of us for how we work within this group."

"By 'work within this group', do you mean leaving your husband for the wolves?" I replied icily.

Lori suddenly smacked me across the face. It was quick.

"Hey!" Dennis shouted from his position on the road.

I looked back at Lori, who was just staring at me. I was aware of Daryl coming to my side as Dennis approached us from where we had been standing.

"Lori," Dennis glared down at her as she looked up at him, "don't you ever touch my sister again. Do you understand me?"

Lori clenched her jaw. Without saying anything, she stomped off.

"Are you okay?" Dennis asked, his eyes softening.

"I'm fine." I replied, rubbing my cheek.

"Hormones must be runnin' rampant." Daryl joked, rubbing my arm comfortingly.

"I'll talk to Carol." Dennis said, moving around Daryl and I. "Maybe you two can speak later."

"Whatever." I mumbled, walking with Daryl towards his bike.

"I know gettin' smacked by Mrs. Grimes kind of put a damper on your mood, but," Daryl reached into his pocket, "I wanted to give you somethin'."

"What?" I asked, looking down as he pulled his hand out.

"Maggie told me it was your birthday yesterday." Daryl explained, holding out his hand to me. "I picked this out at the gas station. There wasn't much to pick from, but…"

In Daryl's hand was a silver mood ring. I remembered seeing a rack of them near the counter.

"You got this for me?" I asked quietly, looking up at Daryl.

"It ain't much, but it's better than nothin'." Daryl mumbled, reaching for my left hand.

Daryl slid the ring onto my ring finger. I couldn't help but smile at the placement. I looked down at the circular stone as it began to change colors. The color finally settled on a purple shade. I looked up at Daryl to see if he knew what purple meant. I didn't even have to ask. I could tell by looking into his blue eyes what purple meant. If he didn't know before how I felt about him, he knew now.

"Happy birthday." Daryl murmured, caressing my hand in his.

"Thank you." I whispered, reaching up to throw my arms around his neck.

We held onto each other until we heard honking from behind us. Then, we had to come back to reality. We broke apart to get on the bike.

"Where are we going?" I asked as I wrapped my arms around Daryl.

"I don't know." Daryl admitted, turning to look at me. "No matter where we go, I always got your back. I'll always keep you safe, baby."

"I know."

Daryl started up the bike, and we were off into the unknown. I didn't care, because though we had no clue as to where we were going or where we would end up, we were together.


	13. REO Speedwagon Saves The Day

_When You Say Nothing At All_

**REO Speedwagon Saves The Day**

**Author's Note: **Hi, everyone. I just wanted to let my readers know that March 3 – March 11, I will be on vacation with my husband. I won't be updating during that time, but don't worry, I'll be back!

**scoobydoo0811: **If Lori wasn't pregnant, it would be awesome to see a smackdown! Haha.

**ScornedxRose: **Aww! I'm glad you like the end of the chapter so much. Lori and Carol piss me off too. It would be awesome if they would kill Carol off already on the show. I haven't decided whether or not to kill her off in my story. We'll see.

**BlackRose851: **Thank you!

**FanFicGirl10: **I think we can all relate to holding emotions in and then blowing up. Roslyn definitely had her breaking point with the group. Carol has always really frustrated me. It surprises me that nobody has ever really called her out. I think that Roslyn wants to apologize for her delivery, not so much the truth behind her angry confrontation. Lori and Roslyn will have it out one way or another. We'll see what happens with those two. Here's your update!

**Candace: **I try to write when inspiration strikes! It would suck to have your period during the zombie apocalypse. It would be such an inconvenience. I don't know if it would attract zombies or not. Not to be gross, but menstrual blood is…well…_dead_…so… Haha. Awkward!

**WhiskeyHandz: **Hahahaha! Your review made me laugh! I definitely think that Roslyn and Lori will hash things out at some point. I'm pretty sure anything Roslyn would do would turn on our beloved hunter. Thanks for the review!

**Guest: **Here's your update!

**DeathOfDeaths: **Well, I'm glad that even though you don't like OC stories, you like mine! Here's your update!

**Leyshla Gisel: **I thought the mood ring was sweet, and I'm glad you think so too. Roslyn needed to have it out with Carol after her comments about Rick. She needed to let it all out.

**Guest: **That's sweet of you to say! I like Daryl's soft side. Here's your update!

**Guest: **You're so sweet! We'll see what happens with the group. Here's your update!

0o0o0

By midday, we hadn't had much luck with finding a place to stay. Since it would be getting dark soon, we were forced to make camp in the woods again. Rick chose a spot near a creek and quickly went to work setting up watches. I volunteered to help someone during their shift. I wasn't surprised when Rick chose not to partner me with Daryl, but rather T-Dog. That was fine with me. Unfortunately, during all of the different events that had happened on the farm, everyone had stuck close to a few people. I had obviously spent most of my time with Daryl. It would be good to spend time with T-Dog.

I helped Daryl set up our tent before I went on watch with T-Dog. We stood on opposite sides of camp, circling the area. When we passed one another, we would share a smile. After a while, we settled down together on the bank of the creek. We sat back to back, keeping an eye out on the woods around us. I kept my gun safely in my lap.

"So…what the hell happened with you and Lori?" T-Dog asked.

"You heard about that?" I asked, glancing over my shoulder at him.

"Glenn told me." T-Dog grinned, meeting my eyes.

"Of course he did." I rolled my eyes, looking away. "I was trying to apologize to Carol for the way I called her out the other night. Lori confronted me."

"Yeah, and your little confrontation ended with her slapping you in the face." T-Dog chuckled.

"I don't see what's so funny." I replied.

"I don't know. Maybe it isn't funny." T-Dog shrugged against me. "I'm tired and I'm hungry. I'd laugh at anything right now."

I heard rustling across the creek at the same time as T-Dog. We both got to our feet, guns in hand. We aimed for the trees on the other side of the creek, but lowered them when Daryl broke through the tree line. He had a few squirrels hanging from his belt.

"Don't shoot." Daryl smirked as he trudged through the shallow water.

"I'm not Andrea." I replied, getting a laugh out of T-Dog.

"I want to preserve as much of the canned stuff as we can." Daryl explained, motioning to the squirrels. "As long as I can get us meat, that's what I'm gonna do."

"That sounds smart." I agreed with a nod.

"I'm gonna get these to the chefs." Daryl grinned. "When dinner's ready, I'll come get you guys."

"Okay."

Daryl walked past T-Dog and I towards camp with his kills.

"Man," T-Dog shook his head, "that dude has changed _a lot_."

"That's what Dale told me before." I replied softly, remembering my old friend. "It's funny though, because I didn't see the transformation like the rest of you did."

"That's because you're the reason." T-Dog said.

"I don't think so." I leaned against a tree. "I think the Daryl you're seeing now is the Daryl he always was, but he was just stuffed deep down inside because of the way he grew up and the way people back home treated him and his family."

"Maybe you're right." T-Dog said. "Even though I'm the reason his brother got left behind, Daryl has gone out of his way to save me."

"He's a good man."

When dinner was ready, Daryl let T-Dog and I know. Glenn and Maggie had already eaten since it was their turn to take watch. T-Dog and I settled down in the circle around the fire. Everyone had a portion of squirrel meat and a scoop of canned corn on their plates. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. I remembered the tiny portions Victoria and I took when we were in the basement. They were much smaller than the portions I was used to with the group.

"Daryl has something that he wants to say." Rick said suddenly. "He and I already discussed this, and I think he's absolutely right. Go on, Daryl."

Daryl cleared his throat from beside me. I stopped eating to give him my full attention.

"Everyone needs to learn to shoot." Daryl muttered, and I could tell he was somewhat uncomfortable addressing the entire group. "It ain't like before when we had stable camps. We're out here in the wilderness, and anything could happen. If we want to survive, all the women need to learn to shoot and start helpin' with watches and stuff."

"I've never fired a gun before." Carol said meekly.

"That's okay." I said quickly, causing Carol to look up at me. "I had never used a gun before the outbreak either. I'm still not the best shot, but I definitely feel safer knowing that I've had _some_ practice. I know what to expect."

"Once we find a place, we're going to have mandatory practices." Rick said.

"What about the kids?" Lori asked from across the fire.

"The kids need to learn too." Rick replied, his voice and expression changing when he talked to his wife.

Lori set her plate aside as she suddenly got up from the fire. She stalked off towards her tent and climbed inside of it. After she left, nobody else spoke.

"I want to catch a few hours of sleep before I take over for Maggie and Glenn." Daryl murmured as we both finished our meals. "You comin'?"

"I will in a little while." I whispered. "There's something I want to do."

"All right." Daryl replied, getting up from the fire. "I'll see you in a little while."

I got up from my place too. I went to Carol, who had just stood up with Dennis and Sophia.

"Carol, can I talk to you?" I asked.

Carol looked up at Dennis, who nodded. She looked back at me.

"Okay." She said quietly.

"Let's take a little walk this way so that we can have some privacy." I suggested, waving my arm in the direction I had planned on going.

Carol walked with me into the woods. We didn't go too far, but just far enough to be alone.

"I wanted to apologize for the way that I spoke to you the other night." I said, turning towards her when I felt we had walked far enough. "It wasn't right to voice my opinions the way that I did, and I really shouldn't have done it front of your daughter."

"Thank you." Carol replied quietly.

"I do want to be honest with you, though." I said. "Doing laundry, cooking, and watching the kids are big responsibilities out here. I'm not saying that what you do to contribute is worthless. What I'm trying to say that survival should be our number one priority. Therefore, everyone needs to be able to defend our group should a herd come through our camp like at the farm."

"I don't know if I feel comfortable…"

"Don't you want to be able to protect Sophia should something like that happen?" I asked. "I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we don't mind helping out with taking care of Sophia and looking out for her, but at the end of the day, she's _your_ daughter."

"I know." Carol murmured, her eyes shining with tears.

"Take part in the practices when they happen." I told her. "You won't be sorry."

When Carol and I finished talking, we went back to camp. Daryl was already fast asleep inside of our tent. He must have been really tired. I was too. I curled up beside Daryl and went to sleep, feeling better about my commitment to being more open and honest with everyone in the group.

0o0o0

I watched Daryl head around the back of the house while Rick took the front. The rest of us remained with our vehicles. I straddled the bike, my hand on my gun. I looked back at the group in their cars, meeting Dennis' eyes. He gave me a nod.

We had found a house buried in the trees. It looked like it hadn't been maintained properly. There were visible holes in the roof and damage to the siding of the home, but it was better than all of us in separate tents in the middle of the woods. Besides, fall was coming.

A few minutes after Rick and Daryl had gone into the house, Daryl poked his head out the front door.

"It's safe." He said, holding the door open.

I motioned for the rest of the group to follow as I climbed off the bike. I walked up the steps and into the house past Daryl. The inside of the house matched the outside. If there had been a set of furniture in the house before, most of it was gone. There was only a rickety looking chair in the corner and a stain covered couch in the living room.

"Have a seat." Rick said, descending the stairs.

I sat cross legged on the floor, my back against the wall. The rest of the group filed in and took their seats all over the room. When Daryl went to shut the door, it broke loose from its hinges and fell onto the front porch. Daryl picked the door up and balanced it against the wall.

"I'll fix it later." He announced to no one in particular.

"Here's the deal." Rick said, leaning forward on his leg. "I still think we should look for a more permanent place. I'll be counting on you all for that."

Rick pointed at Glenn, Maggie, Dennis, Hershel, T-Dog, and I.

"Daryl and I are going to start driving the rest of you a few miles away from this house for the next few days for shooting practice." Rick looked at Lori. "Practice will be mandatory for all of you, and when practices are through, you'll all be expected to help out with watches."

Rick took his foot off the couch.

"There are two bedrooms upstairs." Rick put his hands on his hips. "Lori, Carol, Sophia, and Carl will share one room. Hershel and Beth can share the second. Everyone else will have to share this room."

"What about the cars? The bike?" Glenn asked.

"We're going to bring in the camping supplies and some of our other things." Rick replied. "We'll leave some of our food and medical supplies in the cars…just in case. When we've unloaded what we need, we'll need to move the vehicles. We'll stagger them out on the road."

"I'll keep the bike up at the house." Daryl said.

"Let's get to it." Rick said. "Everyone needs to help bring our things inside."

We all got to work bringing in our things. We arranged the sleeping bags and blankets out on the floor of the living room to make it comfortable for all of us. T-Dog set up his sleeping bag on the couch. When everything we needed had been brought inside, Daryl got to work fixing the front door.

"There will be two people assigned on watch throughout the day and night." Rick explained as we settled into the living room together. "One person will take the back porch and the other will take the front porch. We need to stay vigilant. If we have to make an escape, the cars aren't in the garage. It will take time to get to them."

When we had formulated a watch plan, I was scheduled with T-Dog once again, Lori and Carol made dinner on an actual stove. They heated a few cans of soup while Hershel and Rick took their turn watching the house.

"If it rains, we'll have to put some of our pots down." Glenn said, looking up at the holes in the roof.

"We only have two." Maggie replied, also staring up at the roof.

"Hopefully we won't be here long." Dennis said as he helped Sophia with her workbook.

"Even if we are," Daryl said, sitting down beside me, "I can fix those holes."

"Were you a handyman before all of this?" Dennis asked, seemingly innocent.

"Nah." Daryl shook his head.

"What _did_ you do before the outbreak?"

"Dennis," I cut in, "save it. He isn't a witness on the stand that you need to interrogate."

"I wasn't trying to interrogate you." Dennis looked over at Daryl. "I was just being friendly."

"I stole prescription drugs from your sister." Daryl replied without missing a beat, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"What?" Dennis asked, taken aback by Daryl's response.

"He's kidding." I said to Dennis, and then looked at everyone else. "He's just kidding."

"I ain't kiddin'." Daryl said, this time grinning from ear to ear.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Dennis asked, his flickering between the two of us.

"Who're you askin'?" Daryl asked, wagging his finger between he and I.

"Either of you." Dennis snapped. "Both of you."

"I'm going to take some soup out to the guys." I mumbled, getting to my feet.

"We're talking about this later." Dennis said after me as everyone broke out into giggles.

"Sure." I said sarcastically, taking the two full bowls from Carol on my way out the front door.

Rick was standing at the bottom of the steps, his back to me. I walked down the stairs towards him. As I descended the last step, Rick turned around.

"I brought you something to eat." I said, offering him the bowl.

"Thank you." Rick replied, moving around me to lean his rifle against the stairs before he took the bowl. "You didn't have to do that."

"It was no trouble at all."

"I guess what I should have said was, you didn't have to stick up for me the other night."

"Oh." I leaned against the banister. "Why wouldn't I have?"

"We were both on the outs with everyone that night." Rick said. "You didn't have to make it worse for yourself for my benefit."

"It was more than that." I sighed. "It was…everything."

"What do you mean?" Rick asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Since I joined the group, I felt like the odd man out. I always felt like I had to prove myself to everyone to earn my place. Part of that meant not rocking the boat, so there were a lot of times when I kept my mouth shut when I really wanted to say something."

"You've never had to prove yourself to me, to Daryl." Rick said softly. "I'm sure I can speak for everyone when I say that you never had to _earn_ your place."

"Even your wife?" I asked, raising my own eyebrow.

"I was going to talk to you about that…" Rick scratched the back of his neck. "Actually, I was going to talk to her about that-"

"Please don't." I interrupted. "I plan on talking to Lori when I'm ready to."

"Are you sure?" Rick asked.

"Yeah."

Rick breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, I'd better go get this other bowl to Hershel." I said, leaning away from the banister.

"Thanks again." Rick said as I started around the house.

0o0o0

I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of crickets chirping and the wind blowing through the trees. Upon further investigation, we found out that a window was blown open just upstairs. Along with the several holes in the roof, sounds from outside flowed inside.

Daryl was on watch out on the back porch. Dennis was out on the front porch. I gathered up my sleeping bag, wrapping around my body as I stepped over Carl and Sophia to get to the back door. I quietly opened it and slipped outside. The moment I stepped out onto the back porch, Daryl turned to face me at the base of the stairs. I held a finger to my lips before he could say anything, and tiptoed down the steps towards him. He met me on the last stair.

"What are you doin' up?" Daryl whispered, looking at me questioningly.

"I couldn't sleep." I whispered back. "I figured I would come and keep you company until I got tired again."

"Let's sit down."

Daryl and I squeezed in together on the steps. I draped the sleeping bag around Daryl's shoulders, sharing it with him as we sat together.

"Is somethin' wrong?" Daryl asked, looking over at me.

"Not really." I replied, looking down at the ground.

"Roslyn." Daryl said, guiding my face so that he could look at me. "What's botherin' you?"

"I guess I'm just worried about the winter." I admitted. "If we get stuck in this house, it's going to be hard to stay warm and safe. I just hope we find another place."

"We will." Daryl said, moving his hand to my chin. "You guys are goin' out lookin' tomorrow. When Rick and I are finished teachin' the others to shoot, we'll have more man power."

"I know." I nodded in his hand.

"Fall is just startin'." Daryl lifted his hand to my hair, running his fingers through it. "We've got time."

I leaned my head on Daryl's shoulder. He wrapped his arm around me, pulling me in close underneath the warmth of my sleeping bag. He rubbed my arm slowly and comfortingly. We sat for a while listening to the crickets and the wind.

"I'm sorry about earlier." Daryl muttered suddenly.

"What?" I asked, my brow furrowing as I lifted my head to look at him.

"About the whole thing with your brother." Daryl said. "I didn't mean to embarrass you."

"You didn't embarrass me." I replied.

"Then why'd you tell everyone I was jokin'?"

"First of all, because it was really your brother that wanted the pills." I said. "Second of all, because that isn't you. Everyone is finally starting to see the real you, and I don't want them thinking bad things about you anymore."

"I don't care what they think of me." Daryl said softly. "I care what _you_ think of me."

It was my turn to lift a hand to Daryl's cheek. I stroked the stubble on his face.

"I think you're a good man." I told him, looking into his blue eyes. "I want everyone to see that."

Daryl leaned down, his arm tightening around me as his other hand cupped my cheek. His lips captured mine in a soft kiss. It had been a while since we had kissed. I had forgotten how gentle and sweet his kisses had become. I couldn't help but smile under his lips, and it made him smile back.

When Daryl ended our kiss with the lame excuse that he had to 'keep watch to keep us all safe', I leaned my head against his shoulder like I had before. Listening to the wind and the sound of his quiet breaths beside me, I found myself drifting off to sleep.

I woke up briefly when Glenn came to relieve Daryl. They exchanged words that were lost on me in the haze of sleep. I heard Glenn laughing. Then, Daryl lifted me into his arms. I fell asleep against his shoulder again as he carried me into the house.

0o0o0

Maggie, T-Dog, and I split off from Glenn, Hershel, and Dennis to search for a new place to live. We agreed to each walk five miles in opposite directions, and then to come back. We each carried a bottle of water, a gun, ammo, and knives.

"Maggie, I just remembered something." I said as we walked.

"What's that?" She asked, looking over at me.

"We never got to have our girl talk back on the farm." I said. "You were going to tell me something about Glenn."

"Girl talk?" T-Dog asked, turning around to look at us. "Do I look like a girl?"

"Keep walking then if you don't want to join our conversation." I replied, sticking my tongue out.

"I remember." Maggie nodded. "I was going to tell you that I told Glenn I love him."

"Wait, what?" T-Dog asked, turning completely around to walk backwards.

"I thought you weren't a girl." I said, grinning.

"I'm not, but the L word is a big deal."

"So…what happened?" I asked, turning to look at Maggie as we walked.

"Glenn started acting weird." Maggie said. "When I asked him about it, he told me that my telling him I loved him distracted him. He said that it was all he could think about, that he had to focus really hard to think about anything other than what I said to him."

"How sweet." T-Dog said, turning back around to walk like a normal person.

"Apparently not." Maggie snorted. "He started giving me the cold shoulder. He said he didn't want to be distracted if we ever wound up in a bad situation."

"I'm sorry." I said.

"It's okay now." Maggie replied. "He told me he loved me back after what happened on the farm."

"Good."

"I probably wouldn't have told him in the first place if I knew it was going to freak him out." Maggie mumbled under her breath. "He's such a nerd sometimes."

We walked in silence until we came to a dirt path leading into the woods. We decided to take it with the hopes that it might lead to a nicer house. We kept our guard up as we walked the path. It wound all through the trees. We just kept getting deeper and deeper into the woods.

When we finally broke the trees, we came to the edge of a field. In the middle of the field was a farmhouse. It reminded me a lot of the Greene house. Looking at Maggie's face, I knew it reminded her of the same thing.

"Guys, I think we found our new home." T-Dog said with a smile.

"Let's check it out first." Maggie replied, but she was smiling too.

The three of us staggered out across the field as we walked towards the house. It seemed too good to be true. Could we really be so lucky a second time to find a nice place to set up camp for as long as we could? I was beginning to think our luck was changing.

Suddenly, T-Dog yelled from across the field. I looked over to see that he had disappeared in the tall grass. I immediately started running for where he had once stood.

"T!" I shouted, running with Maggie.

As we got close, I could hear T-Dog moaning in pain.

"Damnit." T-Dog groaned.

His ankle was wrapped in rope, which was tied around a metal stake driven into the ground a few feet away. T-Dog was holding his ankle as he rocked back and forth, his face twisted into a painful expression.

"What the hell?" I asked, kneeling down to untie the rope.

"That's a foot hole trap." Maggie said, inspecting the stake. "It's to catch deer, even some smaller animals like raccoons-"

"Not me!" T-Dog yelped, holding his ankle tighter as the rope fell away.

"We have to get him into the house so that we can take a look." I said, looking up at Maggie.

Maggie and I helped T-Dog hop across the field to the house. While he sat down on the steps, Maggie and I went into the house to check it out. It was in good condition. There were no walkers in sight, and no evidence that walkers had ever come through the house before.

When we deemed the house safe, we helped T-Dog inside. He laid down on the couch in the living room. I propped his ankle up on a pillow and rolled up his pant leg. His ankle was already beginning to swell.

"Does it look broken to you?" I asked Maggie.

"I don't think so." Maggie took my place. "Check out the kitchen. Get something cold."

"Okay."

I went into the kitchen. The food in the fridge and freezer had spoiled. It reeked when I opened the fridge and freezer doors. I quickly closed them. The water worked. I drenched a towel I found in cold water to take back for T-Dog.

"It isn't broken." Maggie said when I returned to the living room.

"Here." I handed the rag to Maggie, which she wrapped around T-Dog's ankle.

"I'll check out the bathrooms to see if there's any medicine." Maggie said, getting up.

I sat down with T-Dog, who was relaxing now that he was off his ankle and had a cold compress. He threw his arm over his sweaty forehead.

"I'm such a damn klutz." T-Dog grumbled, looking up at the ceiling.

"Any one of us could have fallen into that trap." I said, trying to make T-Dog feel better.

"Any of us didn't." T-Dog replied. "I did."

"I gave myself a concussion when I hit my head against a garbage bin." I offered with a shrug.

"You were being shot at." T-Dog rolled his eyes.

"I'm just trying to make you feel better." I said, patting his knee gently.

Maggie returned with Ibuprofen. She gave some to T-Dog before she and I went out on the front porch to talk.

"We can't make it back to the house with T-Dog hurt like this." I said, looking out over the field.

"We wouldn't make it back before dark, and then we would be stuck in the woods at night."

"You could go back now and probably make it back before sunset." I said.

"I'm not leaving you guys." Maggie replied, folding her arms over her chest.

"I'm not leaving you guys either."

"We'll have to stay here for the night." Maggie sighed. "We'll leave first thing in the morning."

"They'll probably come looking for us anyways." I said. "Maybe they'll find us before then."

"I doubt it." Maggie leaned against the door. "We didn't exactly stick to the plan."

"You don't know how good Daryl is at tracking." I replied with a grin.

Maggie and I locked up the house and shut all the windows as the day carried on. She and I took turns wetting the rag for T-Dog's ankle and helping him to the bathroom.

We all shared a box of stale crackers and drank water from the sink.

"I'll take first watch." Maggie said, sliding open one of the shutters.

"I'm going to check out the upstairs."

I left T-Dog snoozing on the couch to go upstairs. There were three bedrooms and a bathroom. One of the bedrooms belonged to a couple. Their bed was covered in lots of pillows. There were several pictures of their family hanging on the wall and in frames on the dresser. The couple had two daughters. One of them was significantly older than the second.

There was a record player set up on a small table in the corner. I flipped through the records. There weren't many, but I recognized a few of them.

"Roslyn!" I heard Maggie shout from downstairs.

As I looked up from the records, I already knew what Maggie was alerting me for. Walkers were breaking through the trees at the edge of the field. There were at least a handful coming towards the house so far, but there were probably more coming.

I ran downstairs.

"Did you see them?" Maggie asked, pointing out the window.

"Yeah." I replied, looking over at T-Dog, who was sitting up clutching his gun.

"What should we do?" Maggie asked. "Should we just go out there and take our chances? We have ammo-"

"Wait." I said, holding up my hand. "I think…I think I have an idea."

"What?"

"We need to open all of the windows and all of the doors." I said, opening the window we were standing in front of.

Maggie and I ran upstairs to take care of those windows as T-Dog hopped around the downstairs opening windows. When all of the windows and doors in the house were open, we looked out to see how many walkers were coming. There weren't as many as on the farm, but there were still enough to worry me that the three of us, and T-Dog on a bum ankle, might not be able to take care of them.

"I'm going to draw the walkers to the house." I said to Maggie.

"What?" She hissed.

"While they're preoccupied with the house, we'll sneak out the back."

"What are you going to draw them to the house with?"

"Just get ready by the back door with T-Dog." I said, heading up the stairs.

I went into the parents' room where the record player was. I chose a record and set it up. As I waited for the music to start, I turned up the volume as loud as it would go. I made sure that I left the bedroom door open as the music start blaring throughout the house.

Even though we were in a precarious situation, Maggie and T-Dog were stifling laughter at my choice of music.

"What?" I asked, looking at both of them.

"Old school, huh?" T-Dog asked with a grin.

"Let's go." I said, pulling one of T-Dog's arms around my neck.

Maggie and I helped T-Dog out of the house, shutting the back door behind us. As we moved away from the house, we could still hear the music floating out of the windows.

"They didn't have any Tupac up there?" T-Dog asked, sticking out his tongue through his teeth.

"Shut up, T." I replied, looking over at him as he hobbled along. "I wasn't taking requests."

The song changed, which only made T-Dog laugh.

"This is something out of a damn movie." He said, shaking his head.

Suddenly, there were gunshots from behind us. The three of us all turned at once.

"It's them!" Maggie cried, already dragging T-Dog back towards the house.

As more gunshots popped off, we made it back to the house. We walked around it towards the front to a glorious sight. The SUV was parked in the middle of the field. Rick, Daryl, and Glenn were all standing in different parts of the field firing at walkers. Daryl had his crossbow out, collecting arrows from bodies as he moved expertly through the tall grass.

"I bet none of them will find that trap." T-Dog grumbled.

Maggie and I deposited T-Dog on the steps so that we could help our men, but by the time we headed out to where they were, the job was finished.

"Daryl!" I shouted, waving my arm as Maggie ran towards Glenn.

Daryl spun around, his eyes wild. He threw his crossbow aside as he ran towards me, practically tackling me to the ground as he wrapped his arms around me and lifted me off the ground. I held him around the neck, burying my face into his skin. I knew he would come for us, for me.

As we pulled away to look into each other's eyes, I saw the feelings swirling in his eyes like I had before so many times. I knew mine were telling him the same thing. As we stared at each other, the song playing in the house suddenly stuck out to me.

_"…and I'm gonna keep on loving you, 'cause it's the only thing I wanna do. I don't wanna sleep. I just wanna keep on loving you…"_

At the same time, Maggie's words from before echoed in my head regarding her admission to Glenn.

I loved Daryl, and I knew he loved me. I saw it in his eyes just like I knew he saw it in mine, but saying it out loud made it even more real. I couldn't risk that saying my feelings out loud would ever cause Daryl distraction or grief. I didn't want to be the reason he was ever hurt or worse…

"You okay?" Daryl asked softly, setting me down so that he could touch my face.

"I'm fine." I replied, smiling. "REO Speedwagon saves the day."

Daryl chuckled as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.


	14. Apples To Apples

_When You Say Nothing At All_

**Apple To Apples**

**Author's Note:** This is a shorter chapter. I was getting back into the swing of things. The next chapter will be longer!

**FanFicGirl10: **Oh no! I definitely didn't mean it that way. Carol was looking to Dennis for his opinion. After all, Dennis did tell Roslyn that he was going to talk to Carol about what happened between them. His nod was supposed to be encouraging, not controlling. Dennis isn't evil! He just did some asshole-ish things in the past and still has his moments. Here's your update!

**Buckismith: **Hmm. Actually, Daryl _has_ thrown his crossbow before. He tossed it onto the hood of a car instead of 'slinging' it onto his back in the first episode of season two. Daryl throwing his crossbow aside was supposed to symbolize that Roslyn and her safety meant more to him in that moment than anything else. Anyways, it's not like the crossbow was going to break. Those things are built to withstand some wear and tear. My husband has had the same crossbow for quite some time. Thanks for your input.

**ScornedxRose: **I'm so glad you think so! Ahh! Here's the next chapter for you!

**Leyshla Gisel: **Haha. It kind of was, wasn't it? You'll find out about the house in this chapter.

**BlackRose851: **Thank you!

**scoobydoo0811: **Thank you!

**Guest: **I'm glad that you're loving the story! I'm sorry to have made you wait so long for this update, but here it is!

**JadedTinks: **I hope you continue loving it! Here's your update!

**Emmieroo: **That's very flattering of you to say. Thank you very much. Here's your update!

**Goldenfightergirl: **Yeah, he has his moments, doesn't he?

0o0o0

Rick called a meetin' when we all got back to the house. We all sat around in the livin' room. T-Dog was laid up on the couch with his sprained ankle. Hershel said it wasn't broken, but it would get him out of helpin' out for a while. Dennis had wanted to hug Roslyn when we got back, but she'd blown him off to settle in with me for the meetin'.

"I have a decision to make." Rick said. "I want everyone's input before I decide anything."

"About our new home?" Lori asked.

"Yeah." Rick said. "T-Dog, Maggie, and Roslyn found a farm house about seven miles northeast of here. It's in good condition. The power doesn't work, but it has running water."

I put my arm around Roslyn. She leaned into me.

"Hershel, Glenn, and Dennis found a small housing development four or five miles west."

"There were only a few walkers wandering around the streets." Glenn piped up. "We were able to put them all down with our melee weapons. We didn't make a sound."

"What kind of state is the development in?" Carol asked.

"There's been some structural damage to some of the houses, but from what the guys tell me, it looks like all of them have power _and_ running water."

"That almost seems like no contest." Lori said.

"Both places have their positives and negatives." Rick said. "What does everyone think?"

"I like the sound of the housing development. I mean, water and power." Carol said.

"Me too." Lori said.

"Call me old fashioned, but I think I'd be more comfortable in the farmhouse." Hershel said.

"Maybe the answer is both." Dennis said.

"What do you mean?" Rick asked.

"Fall is almost here, and winter will follow." Dennis said. "What if we settle into the development, and something happens to drive us out in the middle of the winter?"

"So you're saying that we should use both places?"

"We should choose one to live in, but maintain the second location as a backup plan."

"That actually sounds like a good idea." Glenn said.

"I agree." Roslyn said, sitting up against me.

"All right." Rick said. "Let me think everything over. I'll make a decision after dinner."

Later, after dinner, Rick announced that we would move into a house in the development. He also said that until winter came, we would work to keep the farmhouse in good condition in case we needed to move into it later. He still wanted to take Beth, Carol, Lori, and the kids shootin'. He split the rest into two groups. Hershel, T-Dog, Maggie, and Glenn would go to the development and choose a house for us. Dennis and Roslyn would get dropped off at the farmhouse.

That night, I watched Roslyn sleepin' next to me. We were sharin' the same sleepin' bag even though there wasn't enough room for both of us. I was propped up on my elbow, lookin' down at her face while she slept.

I had been real scared when we got back to the house and Roslyn wasn't there. The minute Glenn said they were late comin' back, I knew somethin' was wrong. We drove the SUV, but I got out along the way to inspect the side of the road for any sign of Roslyn. When we came up on the dirt path, I saw the footsteps leadin' into the woods. I knew it was Roslyn and the others.

I slipped my other hand inside the sleepin' bag. I laid it gently on Roslyn's chest. I didn't have to press too hard to feel her heartbeat. I counted the beats in my head as I looked at Roslyn's face. I was just relieved she had been all right when Rick, Glenn, and I came up on the geeks, but thinkin' about it more made my stomach turn. I focused on Roslyn's heart under my hand. She was alive.

I moved my hand into her hair. None of us had taken a shower since the herd took over the farm, but Roslyn still looked pretty to me. I combed my fingers through her gold hair, liftin' some of the strands to my face so I could smell them.

When Roslyn stirred, I laid down next to her. I laid my head against her shoulder and tried to catch a few hours' sleep before it was my turn to take watch.

0o0o0

Rick and I took the girls and Carl out for practice in the mornin'. Beth and Carl were doin' the best, but I felt like the sheriff's wife was holdin' back. It was Sophia and her mom that needed the most work. Both of them were scared shitless by the sound of guns firin' and even holdin' the damn things. I kept havin' to tell them to shut up when they shrieked or yelped. I was gettin' tired of their shit.

"Do I really have to do this?" Carol asked. "I'm no good."

"This is a world crawlin' with walkers that want to tear your flesh off your damn bones and you don't wanna learn to protect yourself?" I asked.

"I have a knife."

"What happens if you run into more than two or three geeks?" I asked.

"I'm always with the group." Carol said.

"Yeah." I scoffed. "What about when Sophia got lost?"

Carol looked down at the ground. I didn't care. She needed to toughen up.

"You got lucky that Dennis found her." I said. "She got lucky."

"Dennis would never let anything happen to her." Carol said, lookin' back up at me. "To us."

"Right." I smirked at the stupid woman. "Tell that to Roslyn."

"What is your problem with Dennis?" Carol asked, gettin' huffy all of a sudden. "Ever since he came into this group, you haven't treated him with the kindness and respect he deserves. Neither has Roslyn, and he's her older brother."

I glared at the idiot woman.

"Listen here," I pointed at her, "you don't know nothin' about Roslyn. You don't know nothin' about Dennis either. If you did, you wouldn't let your kid tag along after him like she does."

"What do you mean?" Carol asked.

"Dennis ran out on Roslyn when she was only a teenager." I said. "He left her behind to take care of their grandparents. This is the first time he's been back to Georgia since he abandoned them."

"That…that can't be true-"

"Well, it is." I snapped. "You're such an idiot. You're a terrible, goddamn mama. How can you be so trustin' in a time like this?"

I left her to check on the kids. They were takin' turns shooting at empty cans balanced on tree branches. When Carl shot a can out of a tree, Sophia ran to go set it back up.

"Carl!" I shouted.

"What?" Carl asked, turnin' around.

"Lower your gun when Sophia goes to pick up the can!" I shouted, shovin' his hand down. "What if you accidentally pulled the trigger while she was out there?"

"Sorry." Carl looked down. "I forgot."

I sighed.

"It's all right. Just be more careful." I looked at Sophia when she ran back over. "Both of you."

"We will." Carl said.

When I heard the sound of rapid fire behind me, I turned. Rick's woman was puttin' bullets into a tree. When she finished, she threw the gun down and stomped off. Rick was shakin' his head.

"What was that all about?" I asked, pointin' at Lori as she pulled Carol along on a walk.

"She's angry with me." Rick said.

"Why?"

"I thought she was mad at me for killing Shane, but it turns out…she was mad at me for letting Carl put Shane down after he turned." Rick sighed.

"What is it with these idiots?" I asked.

Rick raised his eyebrow.

"No offense." I said. "This ain't the time to be gun shy. This is the time for us to protect ourselves and protect our own."

"I know." Rick said. "I agree with you."

"Your boy is shootin' good." I said. "If only he'd rub off on Sophia."

"I don't know that I want Carl rubbing _anything_ off on Sophia." Rick grinned.

I chuckled.

"You're sick." I said.

"I was going to drive everyone over to the housing development to check on Hershel and the others." Rick said when he stopped laughin'. "Do you want me to drop you off at the farmhouse?"

"Sure." I said.

"We'll swing by and pick you guys up after we have a look at the house they chose."

"Sounds good to me."

Rick did like he said. He dropped me off at the farmhouse before headin' for the development. I walked into the house and saw into the kitchen. Roslyn was scrubbin' out the inside of the fridge. Dennis was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey." I said, 'causin' Roslyn to drop her sponge.

"You scared me." Roslyn said, smilin' at me.

"Keep your guard up, girl." I said, comin' into the kitchen. "That smells a lot better than it did yesterday."

"Doesn't it?" Roslyn asked, scrubbin' away. "I threw all of the rotten food and spoiled milk away, but I figured we could dump it somewhere not near this house."

"Good idea." I said, sittin' down on the floor next to her.

"There were a lot of canned goods in the pantry and in some of the cupboards." Roslyn stopped to look over at me. "I figured we could leave half of the cans here, just in case…"

"Another good idea."

Roslyn smiled at me before she kept scrubbin' the nastiness out of the fridge.

"How was practice?"

"Don't get me started." I mumbled, slumpin' down against the wall.

"Ask Rick to switch you out with Dennis if you don't want to deal with it." Roslyn said.

"Speakin' of Dennis, where is that son of a bitch?" I asked, lookin' around.

"He was cleaning out the upstairs. The bathroom up there was a mess."

"You need any help?"

"I'm almost finished." Roslyn leaned away from the fridge. "I already did the freezer."

"Rick and the others will be back soon." I got up off the floor. "You can do more tomorrow."

Roslyn tossed her sponge into the fridge. She took my hand when I held it out to her. I pulled her to her feet, surprised when she wrapped her arms around me. She leaned her head against my chest.

"What's wrong?" I asked, returnin' her hug.

"Nothing." Roslyn said, lookin' up at me. "I just missed you today."

"I missed you too." I said, leanin' down to kiss her.

"I finished cleaning the upstairs bathroom." Dennis said from behind us, interruptin' our kiss.

Roslyn and I pulled away. I turned to glare at Dennis, but he didn't care.

"Did you want an award?" I asked.

"I already have an award." Dennis said. "Actually, I have several."

"Dennis." Roslyn snapped, movin' around me.

"What?" Dennis asked. "If Daryl wants to bait me, I'll be happy to indulge him with a response."

"Actually, I _want_ to kick your ass." I said, takin' a step towards Dennis. "Would you be happy to indulge me with a fight?"

"You both need to take it easy on each other." Roslyn said, steppin' between Dennis and I. "The three of us have a complicated relationship. We don't have to be best friends, but we don't need to fight at every opportune moment either."

"You're right." Dennis said right away, steppin' back. "I'm sorry."

"You're just sorry-"

"Daryl." Roslyn looked up at me.

"Let's change the subject." Dennis said. "Did you tell Daryl about your idea?"

"What idea?" I asked.

"Roslyn came up with a brilliant plan to keep this farmhouse safe."

"The trap that T-Dog found gave me an idea." Roslyn said. "What if we dug a trench around the whole house? We could drive stakes or sharp sticks into the bottom of it. Wouldn't that keep walkers away?"

I grinned. Roslyn, the girl who hadn't known how to pitch a tent, had come up with a damn good plan that an experienced outdoorsman should've thought of. I was proud of her.

"That _is_ a brilliant plan." I said, wrappin' my arm around Roslyn's waist.

"Really?" She asked. She seemed excited.

"Yeah." I told her. "You should tell Rick. I bet he'll think it's a good idea too."

"See?" Dennis said, leanin' against the wall. "I told you it was a great idea. You don't give yourself enough credit."

Even though I hated Roslyn's dumb brother, it made me feel good to see Roslyn lookin' proud of herself when he said that. I gave Roslyn a little squeeze. She looked up at me with a smile.

"You're an intelligent, young woman." Dennis said. "It's a shame you never applied to college. You have so much potential. You always have."

I saw Roslyn's smile turn into a frown, and knew her dumb brother had upset her. I scowled up at the son of a bitch.

"Are you sure?" Roslyn asked. "I probably wouldn't have been able to figure out the applications. They probably would have been too hard for a piece of redneck trash like me."

Roslyn slipped out from my arm. She shoved past Dennis when he leaned away from the wall.

"Roslyn…" Dennis said, lookin' after her when she walked out of the room.

"You're a real asshole." I said, scowlin' at Dennis when he looked at me.

"I didn't mean anything by what I said." Dennis said. "All that I was trying to say was-"

"I know what you were tryin' to say." I snapped. "In case you forgot, while you were off at your fancy law school, Roslyn was taking care of her grandparents. _Your_ grandparents."

"There you go again sticking your nose into business that doesn't concern you."

"Actually," I crossed the kitchen to get in Dennis' face, "anything havin' to do with that girl concerns me."

"I know that you care about my sister, and she's obviously told you a lot, but you can't possibly begin to understand the situation." Dennis said, not shyin' away from me.

"I saw your gramps before all this." I said, rememberin' the old man's face. "He thought I was you. You know what he wanted from you?"

Dennis didn't say shit.

"He wanted you to look out for your sister. He wanted you to protect her, but you've obviously been doin' a shitty job of that her whole life." I moved away from Dennis. "You don't gotta worry about her. I told the old man I'd look out for her, and that's exactly what I'm gonna do."

I left the kitchen to find Roslyn.

0o0o0

We were spendin' one more night in the run down house before headin' over to the housin' development. I stood outside at the front of the house, takin' my watch. I wasn't surprised when Roslyn came out with dinner for both of us. She usually kept me company when I took watch.

"Thanks." I said, takin' the bowl from her.

"You're welcome." She said, standin' with me. "How's it going out here?"

"It's goin'." I said, havin' a bite of whatever Carol and Lori had thrown together. "What the hell is this?"

"I don't really know." Roslyn said. "I think it's canned chili or something."

"It's awful." I said, swallowin' the nasty mouthful of chili. "I wish I had a bowl of your chili instead."

"Me too." Roslyn laughed. "Do you want me to sneak something else out here for you?"

"Nah, I'll eat the nasty chili." I said, scoopin' up more of the brown sludge. "I've eaten worse things before than this, believe me."

"Like what?"

"One time my-"

"Hey!"

I looked up as Roslyn's dumb brother was stompin' down the steps towards us.

"What's going on?" Roslyn asked, walkin' up to him.

As Dennis came at me, he surprised me with a punch. I threw the bowl of chili aside when his fist connected with my face. I ignored the throbbin' in my jaw as I launched myself at Roslyn's dumb brother. He had just given me a reason to wail on him. I tackled him to the ground, wrestlin' to keep him under me so that I could beat the livin' shit out of him.

"Stop!" Roslyn shouted over top of us. "Stop it, both of you!"

I balled up my fist and hit Dennis in the ribs to keep him from squirmin'. I used the same fist to hit him in the face. I was about to hit him again, but felt Roslyn's hands on my shoulders.

"Daryl, please." She said from above me.

I wanted to keep hittin' her dumb brother, but couldn't ignore her request. I growled as I got up off Dennis. Roslyn wrapped an arm around my waist as I got to my feet.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I asked, lookin' down at Dennis as he sat up.

"What the fuck is wrong with _me_?" Dennis asked. "What the fuck is wrong with _you_?"

Dennis got up off the ground. His lip was bleedin'.

"You told Carol that I abandoned Roslyn, that she was a terrible mother for letting Sophia around me?" Dennis asked. "Why would you do that?"

"It's the truth." I said, shruggin' my shoulders.

"Carol doesn't want me spending any time with her or Sophia anymore."

"So?" I asked.

Dennis looked over at Roslyn.

"I have tried to show you that I care about you and that I'm here for you. Why do you insist on holding a grudge against me, especially at a time like this? Why?"

"This is _not_ my fault." Roslyn snapped. "This is nobody's fault but your own. You are completely unwilling to show any kind of remorse for what you've done. Aside from that, you aren't very likeable when you talk down to people because you think you're better than them or smarter than them."

"I'm…I'm trying, Roslyn." Dennis said, his voice gettin' all quiet like he might cry.

"You need to quit trying and start doing."

Dennis didn't say anything after that. He just stared at Roslyn like an idiot, and then he turned around and went back into the house.

"Are you okay?" Roslyn asked, liftin' a hand to my face.

"I'm all right." I said, lookin' down at her. "My jaw'll hurt for a day. I can live with that."

"I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize for him." I said, runnin' my fingers through her hair.

"He's my brother." Roslyn said. "I feel partly responsible for his actions."

"I guess I can relate." I said, thinkin' about my own older brother. "Still, you ain't responsible for what your dumb brother says or does. It ain't your fault he's an asshole."

We didn't talk much after that. I kept watch with Roslyn's arm around me.

0o0o0

The next day, we packed up all our stuff to head to the new house. Dennis usually tried to talk to Roslyn, but he was steerin' clear of her and me. His bottom lip was swollen. Every time I saw it, I chuckled to myself. The son of a bitch was lucky Roslyn was there to stop me before he got a shiner and a broken nose to go with his cut lip.

Roslyn rode with me over to the housin' development. She kept her arms around me while we flew ahead of the others. She always gripped me tighter when I accelerated. I found myself doin' it just so she would hold me tighter.

The others had picked a house at the back of the development. It was in pretty good shape. There were a few fixes here and there that needed to happen, but it was better than the run down house we had been stayin' in. Each house had an attached garage. We kept the SUV inside of it, and the van parked behind it. I kept my bike on the side of the house.

The house had three bedrooms. Carol and Sophia took one, Lori and Carl took one, and Hershel and Beth took the last of them. The rest of us found places all over the house.

"Where should we set up?" Roslyn asked me.

"Wherever you'll be comfortable." I said.

"There's a screened in porch out back." Roslyn said, headin' towards the back of the house.

There were two chairs and a little couch out on the back porch. Roslyn tossed her stuff onto the floor. She started unrollin' her sleepin' bag and settin' up her things. I joined her.

"Mind if I bunk with you guys?"

I looked up to see T-Dog leanin' against the door.

"You can take the couch." Roslyn said.

"Thanks." T-Dog hobbled into the room.

"Where is everybody else?" Roslyn asked.

"Maggie and Glenn are camping out in the living room." T-Dog unrolled his sleepin' bag on the couch. "I don't know where Rick is staying, but I think your brother is in the dining room."

"You didn't want to share the living room with our resident cute couple?" Roslyn asked.

"Please." T-Dog said. "I don't want to have to listen to their hanky panky every night."

Roslyn laughed.

"What if Daryl and I decide to engage in hanky panky?"

"Something tells me that you two will be much quieter than them." T-Dog said.

"Is Maggie a screamer or somethin'?" I asked.

"No…but Glenn is."

I howled with laughter as Roslyn broke into a fit of giggles.

"What's going on in here?"

When I saw Glenn standin' in the doorway, I laughed even harder than before. So did Roslyn.

"Speak of the devil." T-Dog said, grinnin'.

"What?" Glenn asked. "What did I miss?"

"You didn't miss anything." T-Dog said.

"Come on." Glenn said.

"T-Dog was just tellin' us how loud you are when you're stickin' it to your girlfriend." I said.

Roslyn and T-Dog busted out laughin'. Roslyn was gaspin' for air.

"I hate you guys." Glenn muttered before he walked out of the room.

After we finished settin' up our things, we all got together in the dinin' room. Lori and Carol had lunch made for everyone. While we ate, Rick brought up Roslyn's idea to dig a trench around the farmhouse.

"We need to have the trench dug as soon as possible." Rick said. "The ground is only going to get firmer the closer we get to winter. We're going to put shooting lessons on hold until the trench is finished."

"Shouldn't some of us stay behind at the house?" Carol asked.

"Of course." Rick said. "Tomorrow, I'll be taking Daryl, Dennis, Maggie, and Glenn with me to the farmhouse to start diggin'. The rest of you need to stay here."

"What can we do to make _this_ house safer?" Lori asked.

"I've been thinking about that." Rick said. "Once the trench is finished, we can build a fence around the lot."

"A fence?"

"We don't have a whole lot of options."

After lunch, everyone started rotatin' in and out of the shower. I could've cared less. I let everyone else go before me. Showerin' was the last thing on my mind. I wanted to get that trench dug and the fence put up. I wanted to make the two houses safe, especially with winter comin'.

Since the house we were in had power, I planned to do a lot of huntin' before the winter. We would be able to store meat. Once the trench was finished, I would start doin' a lot more huntin' than I had been lately.

When I finished washin' up, I went downstairs and out onto the back porch. T-Dog was laid up on the couch with a beer can in hand. Glenn and Maggie were sittin' in the two chairs, also holdin' beer cans. Roslyn was sittin' on the floor. She held out a beer to me.

"What's goin' on?" I asked.

"We're all going to be working a lot harder starting tomorrow." Roslyn said. "Glenn found a few cases of beer in the basement fridge. We thought we'd have a fun night before work on the trench starts."

I took the beer from Roslyn and settled in on the floor with her.

"Anyone know any good drinking games?" Maggie asked.

"We could play beer pong." Glenn said. "There's a card table in the basement."

"Why are we still up here?" T-Dog asked, gettin' up. "I'm a pong champion."

We all took the beer down into the basement. Roslyn and Maggie found a stash of little Styrofoam cups in the kitchen pantry. As for ping pong balls, the only thing close enough we could use were golf balls. Roslyn and Maggie start shit talkin', so we decided to make it guys against girls.

"You girls are going to regret what you said." T-Dog said, pickin' up a golf ball.

"Just shoot, T." Roslyn said.

T-Dog tossed the golf ball. It didn't actually make it into any of the cups, but it did knock two of them over.

"That doesn't count." Maggie said.

"It does count." T-Dog said.

"This is going to be an interesting game." Glenn said.

The golf balls wound up splashin' beer everywhere when they did make it into the cups. More beer ended up on the table and on the floor than it did in our mouths. It was a damn shame.

"We're never going to get drunk playing this way." T-Dog said.

"You're just saying that because you're going to lose." Roslyn said.

"Right."

"There are some board games out on the back porch." Maggie said. "Why don't we take the beer back up there and play one of them? We could make it interesting."

So the five of us wound up goin' back upstairs. After goin' through all the games, the girls decided on some game called Apples to Apples. I hadn't ever heard of that game in my life. I decided to sit out and watch, sippin' on a beer.

"Okay, so the rules are that whosever cards don't get picked, those people have to drink." Maggie said, dealin' out the cards.

"It's a good thing you sat out, Daryl." Glenn said.

"Oh yeah?" I finished my beer. "Count me in, screamer."

T-Dog and Roslyn started laughin'. Glenn blushed like he was already drunk. Maggie looked confused, but she gave me seven cards.

"I'll go first." Roslyn said, pickin' up a green card. "The word is…"

Roslyn started gigglin'. She showed the card to T-Dog, who started chucklin'.

"What?" Maggie asked.

"Sensual." Roslyn said, and I grinned.

"Oh no…" Glenn mumbled.

"Sensual, tactile, pleasing, sexual…Glenn." Roslyn set the card down. "Sensual."

"What am I missing?" Maggie asked.

"Nothing." Glenn muttered.

"I just told Daryl and Roslyn that your boyfriend is loud in the sack." T-Dog said.

"What?" Maggie asked, lookin' all embarrassed.

"Come on, guys." Roslyn said. "Pick your cards."

I looked through my cards. I didn't have much to pick from. I tossed a card out face down. When everyone set down their cards, Roslyn shuffled them so she wouldn't know whose was whose.

"There's a clear winner here." Roslyn said, settin' down a card. "Bill Clinton."

"Hell yeah." T-Dog said, pickin' up the green card. "Drink, losers."

I took a drink from my new beer.

T-Dog took his turn next. The word was dysfunctional.

"If someone is holding a card that says 'Roslyn's relationship with her brother' or 'Daryl's relationship with Roslyn's brother', now is the time to throw it out." Glenn said.

"You're hilarious." Roslyn said, throwin' a card out.

T-Dog picked up the cards when they were all shuffled. He laughed, and showed everyone the card he was pickin' as the winner. It was mine.

"My Family." T-Dog said, handin' me the green card.

After an hour, T-Dog and I were tied for winner. We both had six cards. Glenn was drunk as hell. He hadn't won a single round yet.

"I regret the decision to play this game." Glenn said.

"The word is global. Global, world-wide, spherical, universal. Global." Roslyn read aloud.

I looked through my cards. There was one that seemed very appropriate. I tossed it out.

"Let's see you beat that." T-Dog said, throwin' his card down.

Roslyn picked up the cards. I knew when she read mine. Her face became serious. She laid the card down so that everyone could see it.

"The End of The World." She said.

I picked up the green card.

"Wow." Glenn said. "What a downer."

"You're just mad 'cause you lost, Koreaman." I said.

"I think we're going to call it a night, guys." Maggie said, helpin' Glenn up. "See you in the morning."

"Goodnight." Roslyn said.

T-Dog climbed up onto the couch after a while. Roslyn snuggled up to me on our sleepin' bag bed on the floor. She threw an arm over me and laid her head on my shoulder.

"I'll miss you tomorrow." She whispered.

"I'll miss you too." I said. "Hopefully we'll get a lot done tomorrow. I want the trench done in the next few days."

"It'll get done."

"The sooner the better."

"Don't leave without saying goodbye." Roslyn held me tighter.

"I wouldn't dream of it." I said, rubbin' my face against her damp hair.

"Goodnight, Daryl." Roslyn whispered.

"Goodnight, baby." I whispered back, pullin' her closer to me.


	15. Downward Spiral

_When You Say Nothing At All_

**Downward Spiral**

**FanFicGirl10: **Somebody needed to let her have it! Of course Roslyn stood up for Daryl! Who wouldn't? Hahaha. Here's your update!

**ScornedxRose: **I'm really glad that you like Daryl's POV. It can be challenging to try and write like him, but it's good to know that I'm doing a good job with it in your eyes. I can understand you feeling sorry for Dennis. I can definitely sympathize with both Roslyn and Dennis. I can see both sides. Here's your update!

**Leyshla Gisel: **Definitely! It was only a matter of time.

**BlackRose851: **Thank you!

**kaayrakoi: **Wow. Thank you very much! What a compliment! Here's your update! I'm doing a lot of shouting! Hahaha.

0o0o0

While the group digging the trench was away, the rest of us decided that some of us should start collecting tree branches and sturdy sticks that we could then sharpen for the bottom of the trench. I volunteered to go out. I wasn't surprised when Carl did too. He had been stepping up a lot more since what had happened on the farm. It was as if the herd coming through had accelerated his growth. He didn't even really look the same. He looked older.

T-Dog would have come along, but his ankle was still healing. He promised to come another day. Everyone else stayed behind. Hershel wanted to stay close to pregnant Lori and Beth.

Carl and I decided to stay within the neighborhood. We searched through backyards.

"I'm going to climb that tree, see if there are any branches I could break off." Carl said, pointing up at a tree in one of the backyards.

"Just be careful." I told him. "If you hurt yourself, your mom would kill me."

"My mom already wants to kill you." Carl replied simply, starting up the tree.

"Right." I muttered, watching him climb.

"It's the truth." Carl said, making his way up the trunk. "I saw her smack you that day on the road."

"Who didn't?" I asked, leaning against the tree.

"I think this one will come loose." Carl said, reaching for a branch.

I watched Carl tug on the branch. I heard it beginning to give way. After a few minutes, he snapped it free from the tree.

"Heads up." Carl said, dropping the branch down to me.

Carl snapped another branch free before coming down. We scoured the yard for sticks worth our while. We found a few, and then moved on.

"So, what's the deal with you and my mom?" Carl asked.

"She hasn't said anything to you?" I asked.

"I don't really talk to her anymore." Carl replied, his voice changing.

"Why not?"

"I just don't." Carl mumbled.

I decided to drop it. He obviously didn't want to talk about it, at least not with me.

"Your mom and I just had a disagreement." I said.

"Why did she hit you?" Carl asked, looking up at me. "My mom has never hit anybody."

"She was just upset by something I said."

Carl and I searched for branches and sticks in another backyard. He climbed the two trees, sending a few more branches down my way. We were starting to make progress.

After we couldn't carry anymore, we went back to the house.

"We were just talking about other things we could be doing to help." Hershel said when we returned with our bundles.

"We were thinking that we should start stocking water." Carol said. "We have water, but that could change at any time. We should make sure we have some saved up."

"That's a good idea." I said, setting down the branches I had been carrying.

"We're going to need containers and bottles." Hershel said. "We'll have to search other homes."

"I'll stay here with the kids." Lori volunteered.

"I'm going to help look." Carl said from beside me.

"You already did your part today." Lori replied. "Don't you think we should get some schoolwork done? You haven't-"

"I don't need to do schoolwork." Carl interrupted. "I need to help out."

It was quiet then. There had been a clear change within the Grimes family. Rick and Lori didn't even sleep in the same space anymore, and Carl obviously felt at odds with his mom for some reason.

"Roslyn, is it all right if I come along with you?" Carol asked suddenly, cutting through the awkward silence.

"Sure." I said.

Hershel and Beth went one way. Carol, Carl, and I went in the other direction.

"Are they sure they got all the walkers?" Carol asked as we approached the first house.

"They're sure." I replied. "If there were any walkers in the neighborhood, they would have been drawn to our house last night."

"It was nice to sleep in a real house again." Carol said, glancing around as we entered the home.

"Don't get too comfortable." Carl said, starting up the stairs. "Who knows when we'll have to move on."

Carol stared up the stairs at Carl. She turned to me once he had disappeared.

"He's changed." She said simply.

"We all have." I shrugged, moving into the kitchen.

I rummaged through the cupboards, pulling out anything that could be used to store water in. I collected water bottles, thermoses, Tupperware containers, anything.

"Can I ask you a question?" Carol asked suddenly.

"What?" I asked, turning around.

Carol was leaned against the kitchen doorway. She was staring at the floor.

"Daryl…told me some things about your brother." Carol looked up at me. "I was just wondering if the things he said…if they were true."

I sighed.

"I don't know if I'm the best person to talk to about Dennis." I said.

"It's just that…Sophia is pretty upset with me since I told her she couldn't spend time with Dennis anymore." Carol folded her arms. "She really likes him. He…"

I walked to the island.

"Dennis told me that when he found Sophia in the woods, he wanted to take care of her." I said. "He said that he wanted to have a second chance at having a little sister. He cares about Sophia just as much as she cares about him."

"Why are you telling me this?" Carol asked, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you hated Dennis."

"Dennis and I, our problems, they're separate from his relationship with you and your daughter." I replied. "The fact of the matter is, the person who joined our group isn't the same person I knew so many years ago, maybe in _some_ ways he is, but as a whole…"

"In that sense," Carol joined me at the island, "he's kind of like Daryl."

"What?" I asked.

"The man who he became after we found you at the CDC isn't the same man we knew before." Carol smiled. "He's different now. Everyone is giving him a second chance."

"It's just a funny comparison." I said, but I could see what Carol was trying to say. "Just…do me a favor, don't cut Dennis out of your life and Sophia's life because of what Daryl told you. Base your relationship with him off of what you know of him through his involvement in our group."

"Okay." Carol nodded.

We collected up our finds and took them back to the house. Lori and Sophia began filling them up with water while Carol, Carl, and I went back out to search more. We didn't return for good until sunset. By the time we got back, the digging crew had come back too.

"How is the trench coming?" I asked as the dirty diggers got out of the van.

"It's coming along." Rick said, pushing his hair back. "What are all those containers for?"

"We decided to start stocking up on water." Carol replied.

"That's a great idea."

"We already have a nice supply in the basement." Carl said, his arms full of bottles.

"What's for dinner?" Glenn asked, wiping dirt off his face. "I'm starving."

"You're getting in a shower before you eat anything." Maggie said, leaning up to whisper in Glenn's ear.

"Let's go." Glenn said, reacting to whatever Maggie had whispered to him.

While they went into the house, Daryl and Dennis emerged from the van. Dennis started to head for the house, but Carol jogged after him. They went inside of the house together.

"What's that all about?" Daryl asked.

"I think Carol is going to give Dennis another chance." I replied.

"Whatever." Daryl shrugged, turning his head to look back at me. "Here, let me get those."

Daryl took the bottles and containers out of my arms. We went into the house together. Lori and Sophia were making dinner in the kitchen. Everyone else was either filling the containers with water or waiting for their turn to get into the shower.

When everyone else had showered, Daryl and I went up the stairs to the bathroom.

"You sure you want to shower with a dirty ass like me?" Daryl asked with a grin.

"You won't be dirty for long." I replied, unbuttoning his shirt while he leaned over to start the shower. "Besides, maybe I like you that way."

Daryl slipped out of his shirt after I'd unbuttoned it completely. He wrapped his arms around me, kissing me as I started on his pants. He refused to let me untangle myself from him, which made taking his pants off difficult. I finally got them off, but with a lot of fumbling and stumbling in between.

"It's your turn, girl." Daryl murmured, tugging at my shirt.

I lifted my arms over my head so that Daryl could pull my shirt off. When it was on the floor, he wrapped his arms around me again. I felt his fingers working on my bra. It took him a minute to figure out the clasp, it usually did, but he finally got the bra off of me.

When we were both naked, we got into the hot shower. The water circling the drain turned brown as the dirt from the digging Daryl had done rinsed off of him. I didn't mind. Daryl always looked good to me, even when he was covered in dirt from head to toe.

Daryl lifted my hand, stroking the mood ring on my finger. The stone was bright purple. It almost always was, at least when I was in Daryl's presence. He smirked, but it was an endearing smirk. He held my hand against his face as he leaned in to kiss me. He had perfected soft, tender touches.

We lathered each other in soap, rubbing one another down gently. My hands lingered over places that made Daryl inhale sharply or groan. When he began to growl, I knew that he was becoming impatient. He wanted me. I wanted him. I didn't make him wait any longer.

Daryl pressed me against the cool shower wall. I lifted my leg to wrap around his waist as he pressed his body against mine. With one hand, he guided himself into me. It was always an easy, perfect fit. It was almost cliché, but I didn't care. Daryl and I were meant for each other. We had been brought together by Merle's addictions, but we had found each other again when the world had gone to hell. If that wasn't fate, I didn't know what was.

"Baby." Daryl murmured into my neck as he thrusted into me.

I closed my eyes, soaking in the feeling of Daryl's breath on my neck and him moving inside of me. It was where I wanted him most. I wanted him to be a part of me always.

At the last moment, Daryl pulled himself out of me. He had become wearier and wearier of releasing inside of me since finding out that Lori was pregnant. I didn't blame him. He was protecting both of us and the rest of the group.

My legs were like jelly as Daryl turned the water off. He seemed to notice, and kept an arm around my waist as we got out of the shower and dried off.

"We should move into a house of our own." Daryl said, pulling on the clean clothes he had brought upstairs. "We'd be able to do that more often."

"I wish." I sighed, getting dressed too.

"Someday." Daryl said softly, causing me to look up at him. "Someday, we'll have a house of our own."

"Do you really think so?" I asked quietly.

"Sure." Daryl shrugged.

I smiled as I finished getting dressed. It made me feel better to know that Daryl saw a future for us beyond the outbreak. I was sure that if I tried, I could picture it too.

0o0o0

I took watch out in the backyard that night. T-Dog was out front. I could hear Daryl snoring inside the screened in porch. He only snored when he was really tired. Digging the trench must have taken a lot out of him. I chuckled quietly as he sawed logs in the dead of night.

"Roslyn?"

I whirled around, startled by the voice. Dennis was standing by the porch.

"What are you doing out here?" I asked.

"I wanted to come and talk to you." Dennis replied, coming to stand with me.

"What's going on?"

"I just wanted to say thank you." Dennis said. "Carol and I talked. She said that you set her straight, and that I can spend time with her and Sophia as much as I want to."

"Good." I replied, keeping my eyes on my surroundings.

"Why did you do that for me?" Dennis asked.

I looked up at my brother. He was so tall. He had always towered over me. I wasn't alone. He was the tallest person in our group by a full head.

"I guess I haven't been very fair." I replied after a while. "I should have kept my personal feelings out of your relationship with everyone else. They don't know you like I do. Our history has nothing to do with them. I should let everyone form their own opinions about you without anything I have to say."

"The only opinion that really matters to me is yours." Dennis said. "I know what you think of me, and I want to change your mind. I want you to see me the way that Carol or Sophia sees me."

"I can't promise that I ever will."

"I'm going to keep trying anyways."

I looked back at the yard. The bushes rustled as the breeze blew through them.

"Can I stay with you?" Dennis asked.

"If you want to." I sighed, trying to stay alert during our conversation.

Dennis stayed with me for the remainder of my watch. When my time was up, we went inside together so that I could wake Rick for his turn. Dennis went into the dining room where he was set up. I went out onto the back porch to snuggle up to Daryl, who was still snoring away.

0o0o0

Over the next few days, the trench was finished. The only thing left to do was to drive the sharpened sticks into the ground. Meanwhile, the rest of us had started up on the fence. By the time the trench was completely dug, the fence was up around the house. Hershel had even constructed an opening in the fence in front of the driveway that could be locked and unlocked accordingly. Everything was beginning to take shape.

That morning, Lori wasn't feeling very well. While she rested, Beth and I took care of making breakfast for those of us that hadn't eaten. The group working on finishing out the trench had already eaten and left for the day.

"Should we take something out to Carol?" Beth asked.

"Sure." I said, making a plate for Carol. "I'll take it out to her."

"I'll come too." Beth said, pouring a glass of water. "I'd like to get some fresh air."

"Okay."

Carol was taking watch just outside of the fence. As we were walking towards the door, I realized I had left the silverware inside.

"Here, take this." I said, handing the plate of eggs to Beth. "I'll be right back with a fork."

I went back inside for the fork. When I got back outside, the door was shut. I opened it, stepping outside of the fence. The moment I did, I was grabbed from behind. Before I could cry out, a dirty hand clamped down over my mouth. I fought against the arms around me, but they were stronger than I was.

"Make a sound and we'll shoot your friends." A voice threatened in my ear.

I was swiveled around to see that both Carol and Beth were being held at gunpoint. Beth was crying silent tears. Carol's eyes were wide and terrified. I couldn't risk getting away or going for my gun. If I wasn't quick enough, the men holding Carol and Beth would shoot them.

"They'll do for now." The man holding Carol said. "We can come back later."

"We don't know how many of them there are." The man holding me replied.

"We'll find out." The man holding Carol said, grinning. "We _always_ find out."

"You do exactly what we say, or else we'll shoot all of you." The man holding me said.

The three men lead us down the street. I wanted to break free. I wanted to reach for my gun. I knew that it was better to submit, at least for the time being. If I didn't, it could mean Carol or Beth getting shot. I couldn't have that.

There was a beat up truck down the street. The men took turns pointing guns on us while each of us were tied up, gagged, and disarmed. When Beth whimpered, the men holding guns on her aimed closer to show her that they meant business. She didn't make another sound.

When the three of us were tied up, the men put us into the bed of the truck.

As the truck started up, I wiggled my way towards the tailgate. Once the truck started moving, I began to use my feet to try and kick the tailgate down. When Carol saw what I was doing, she maneuvered her way down to where I was. She began kicking at the tailgate too. It wasn't long after we began kicking at it that the truck suddenly stopped.

"What the hell is going on back here?" A voice asked, approaching the back of the truck.

The man appeared. He pulled down the tailgate. As he did, a second man appeared. Together, the two men tied our legs together. When our legs were secured, they put the tailgate back up and we were moving again.

I looked over at Beth. She was still crying, her sounds muffled by the gag.

"It's okay, Beth." I tried to say through my gag, but my words were lost in the bandana.

I couldn't be sure how long we drove, but it felt no longer than a half hour. When the truck came to a stop, the men all got out.

"If you girls try anything cute, we won't hesitate to shoot." One of the men said.

Each man took turns slinging one of us over their shoulder. The man who scooped me up smelled like he hadn't bathed since the outbreak. His shoulder dug painfully into my torso as he walked. I looked all around at the trees. I didn't recognize where we were.

I suddenly had an idea as we worked our way through the trees. I looked down at the mood ring on my finger. It meant so much to me, but it meant more if it could help Daryl find me. I raised my tied hands to my face. Though my mouth was gagged, I moved my lips around the ring. I managed to slip the ring off my finger. Carefully, I spit the ring out onto the ground.

When we broke through the trees, we came to a dirt road. On the other side of the dirt road was a rundown motel. The building was just as dirty and unkempt as the three men that had taken us hostage.

We were all taken into the same motel room. It smelled to high heaven. The men all deposited us onto the unmade bed. They sat us up in a row. I was between Carol and Beth.

"Charlie, keep watch." The man who had been holding me said to one of the other two. "Ernie and I can handle them for now."

Charlie left the room with his rifle.

"Ernie and I are going to take off your gags." The unnamed man said. "If any of you make a sound without our say so, you'll be sorry."

Ernie and the unnamed man released us from our gags. I could feel the corners of my mouth, raw from the bandana cutting into them for the past hour or so. I licked my lips. My tongue stung the corners of my mouth.

"Now," the unnamed man stood in front of the three of us, "we're going to ask you some questions. If you don't give us the answers we're looking for…"

Without warning, the unnamed man opened his hand and smacked Carol in the face. Beth gasped through her tears. I looked over at Carol, whose face was stone. A bright, red handprint was already forming on her cheek.

"How many of you live in that house?" Ernie asked, leaning on his rifle.

I remained silent. I wasn't going to give up the others. Giving our captors information would only hurt us and our group. The best thing to do would be to keep quiet. I just hoped that we could all hold out.

The unnamed man slapped Carol across the face again. She didn't even flinch.

"You're a pretty strong lady, aren't you?" The unnamed man asked, bending over to look Carol in the face. "You've been smacked around before, haven't you?"

"There's nothing that you can do-"

The unnamed man's slap stung much worse than Lori's. It caught me even more off guard. My head snapped over in Beth's direction. She was still crying. She was trembling visibly.

"Let's see how long you'll let your friends take it." The unnamed man said.

"Don't say anything." I managed to mutter before the unnamed man backhanded me. I tasted blood in my mouth after his knuckles met my jaw. I swallowed it.

"There's no one else." Carol said, her voice just as stony as her expression.

"Now, that's what you said before." The unnamed man said, waving to Ernie. "You told us that it was only you, but then these two girls walked out."

Ernie grabbed Beth off the bed. He threw her onto her knees, pointing his rifle at her. She began to sob openly, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Leave her alone!" I shouted as the unnamed man jerked me onto the floor to join Beth.

"If you don't start talking, you're going to be covered in their brains." The unnamed man said, holding his rifle to the back of my head. "You better tell us how many of you there are."

Carol looked at both of us. Her stony expression was beginning to falter.

"There…there are only a few." Carol murmured, keeping eye contact with Beth and I. "There were only the three of us and three more. An injured man, an old man, and a pregnant woman. That's it."

The unnamed man and Ernie laughed.

"That's it?" The unnamed man asked. "That's who you were protecting?"

"I told you what you want to know." Carol replied. "Let them go. Let us go."

"We're not finished here."

"What do you want?" Carol asked.

"This one here," the unnamed man pressed the rifle harder against my head, "was armed. So were you. How many guns do you people have?"

"Not many." Carol murmured, looking down at the floor. "Those were our two best guns."

The unnamed man and Ernie laughed again. A moment later, Beth and I were tossed back onto the bed.

"Your little group sounds pretty pathetic." The unnamed man said. "It sounds like we could have done a lot more while we were there."

"We could go back tonight." Ernie said. "We could take out the two men, bring the pregnant one back here-"

"No!" Beth screamed.

As the unnamed man reached out towards her, I threw my body in front of her. Beth and I both tumbled onto the floor. I rolled off of her, but remained in front of her. The unnamed man glared down at both of us, but he didn't move.

"We'll go tonight." The unnamed man said, still glaring down at Beth and I.

"What should we do with them?" Ernie asked. "The others won't be back until the end of the week."

"Get Charlie back in here." The unnamed man said, setting down his rifle.

Ernie went to retrieve Charlie. The only sounds in the room were Beth's quiet sobs and Carol's frantic, frightened breaths. I realized after a moment that I was holding my breath. I released it as I began to feel lightheaded. It came out shakily.

When Ernie and Charlie came back, the unnamed man pointed to the three of us.

"Room two, room three, and room four." The unnamed man said.

"Please don't separate us." Carol whimpered as Ernie grabbed her.

The three men just laughed as they each grabbed us like before. I submitted to the unnamed man as he carried me to a different room. He threw me carelessly onto the bed, adjusting my binds so that they were wrapped around the bed.

"Don't try anything smart." The unnamed man told me as he put my gag back on. "If you behave, I'll even bring you something to eat…after we bring your pregnant friend here."

I watched as the unnamed man left the room, hoping that I would never see him again. He and his two friends were expecting to attack the house with only three people inside. What they weren't expecting was to actually walk in on more people with more firepower.

I tried to stay calm as I laid on the bed, tied up and gagged. My thoughts were of Beth and Carol in the other rooms. Were they okay? Were the other men hurting them or taking advantage of them? My thoughts were of the others. Would any of them be hurt that night? Would they be able to find us at the motel? Mostly, I was thinking of Daryl. I wanted him to make it out of whatever firefight was going to occur. I wanted him to come to the motel and find me.

0o0o0

"Fuck!"

I opened my eyes, realizing that I had drifted off to sleep. The moment I opened my eyes, I heard movement in the room to the right of mine. There was cursing and shouting and lots of banging around. I felt anxious as I listened to the sounds, wondering how long I had been sleeping and what had happened while I had been asleep.

After a while, the door to my room opened. The unnamed man stood in the doorway, his face beet red and his eyes wild with anger. He stomped across the room towards me, untying my binds and throwing me over his shoulder in almost the same movement. He took me into the room I had been in before. Carol and Beth were already there.

"You fucking bitch!" The unnamed man shouted, grabbing the back of Carol's neck.

Carol sobbed, tears beginning to overflow.

"You stupid cunt." Ernie said from the other side of the room. "You fucking, stupid cunt."

I realized that both the unnamed man and Ernie were covered in blood. Neither of them appeared to be injured, but when I didn't see Charlie, I put the pieces together. The men had attacked the house, and someone had obviously killed Charlie.

"You fucking lied to us you fucking bitch!" The unnamed man bellowed, shoving Carol back. "There weren't three fucking people in that house! They sure as shit has more guns than you said they would have!"

Beth was crying beside me. I wondered if she had ever stopped crying. From the looks of her eyes, I would have guessed no.

"Because of you, one of our men got killed." The unnamed man said, running a hand through his greasy hair. "We're lucky that we weren't killed."

Carol remained on her back on the bed. She was shaking as she cried.

"Because you lied," the unnamed man stood in front of Beth, "she's going to get it."

The unnamed man threw Beth onto the floor, who was now crying hysterically as she waited on her hands and knees for a blow.

"Get away from her!" I shouted.

"I'm the one who lied to you." Carol sobbed on the bed. "You can do whatever you want to me."

The unnamed man grabbed a handful of my hair. He threw me onto the ground beside Beth. I looked over at Beth, who was gasping for air as she cried. It was almost impossible to hear anything else over the sounds of her crying.

Then, the blow came to my ribs. I knew I had been kicked as I collapsed onto the ground. As my face hit the floor, another blow knocked the wind out of me. It was already hard to breathe with my face to the floor, but it became even more difficult as I felt like my lungs had been punctured. My ribs were already throbbing as I gasped like a fish out of water.

Over the sounds of my own ragged breathing and Beth's cries, I heard Carol screaming. As her screaming pierced through the rest of the noise in the room, I was pulled to my feet. The movement only made the throbbing in my side worse. I slumped onto the bed, barely aware of what was going on around me as I focused on the pain in my ribs.

When I managed to look up, I almost wish I hadn't. The unnamed man had torn Carol's shirt from her body. Ernie was holding a rifle on Beth and I, but he was also watching the unnamed man undress Carol with sick fascination. Beth leaned heavily on me as she cried. She wasn't watching.

"Look!" The unnamed man suddenly shouted, breaking eye contact with Carol to look up at Beth and I. "You fucking watch what happens when you don't fucking listen!"

Beth continued to hide her face in my shoulder. Carol looked up at me from the floor. Her eyes, which had once been spilling tears, were dead. The unnamed man was right. Carol had once been abused. She was used to being hit. I never knew that about her until that moment. I refused to look away from her eyes, even when I knew the unnamed man had forced himself inside of her. I wanted to be something that Carol could look at to escape the pain and humiliation she was experiencing.

When he was finished with her, the unnamed man got off of Carol. He did up his pants, motioning for Ernie. I almost looked away from Carol when I saw Ernie taking off his pants. I couldn't. I knew I couldn't. I had to be strong for Carol. I had to be her anchor.

Beth's cries had quieted, but she kept her face in my shoulder.

Ernie finished much more quickly than the unnamed man. He got up off of Carol, putting his pants back on as the unnamed man came back into view.

"You girls, you'll be next." The unnamed man said, staring down at Beth and I. "Maybe, if you both behave yourselves, you'll get a better ending than your friend."

"Take care of Sophia." Carol whispered, her eyes boring into mine.

As Carol's eyes flickered closed, I saw the unnamed man pointing his rifle at her. I suddenly realized what Carol had realized long before me.

"No!" I screamed, my voice lost in the sound of the rifle firing.

Beth's cries started up again. I stared at Carol, whose head had been blown open by the bullet. If it weren't for the brain matter and blood oozing out of the gaping wound, her peaceful expression might have fooled me into thinking she was sleeping. I was only half aware of the spray that had reached Beth and I on the bed.

"Strip them." The unnamed man said. "Throw them in the closet."

Ernie grabbed Beth, but I reacted immediately though Carol lay dead on the floor. I launched myself at him, but fell onto the floor with my hands and feet bound.

"Get up." The unnamed man muttered, pulling me harshly to my feet.

I watched as Ernie pulled off Beth's shirt. When she cried out, Ernie hit her in the face. Something seemed so wrong about anyone putting their hands on an innocent face like Beth's. Had I been free, I would have thrown myself at Ernie. Instead, I was helpless as Ernie and the unnamed man stripped Beth and I down to our bras and panties.

When I was in my bra and underwear, the unnamed man threw me over his shoulder. His shoulder worsened the pain in my ribs. He carried me back to the room I had been tied up in. Instead of tying me up on the bed, he shoved me into the closet.

"When the rest of the men get back…" The unnamed man mumbled.

The closet door shut.

In the darkness, in my bra and underwear, I had nothing else to do but process what had happened. I thought of Carol, raped and dead, and of Beth's and my fate. The images in my head quickly sent me into a downward spiral. I began to sob, though no tears came, I began to shake violently as though I was seizing.

Over my own sounds, I could hear muffled sounds close by. I continued to shake, but forced myself to stop sobbing by biting my own tongue. I leaned against the wall. I could hear crying on the other side. I knew that it was Beth in the closet in the room next to mine.

"Beth." I shivered, pressing my face to the wall. "Beth."

The cries on the other side of the wall quieted slightly.

"Beth, can you hear me?" I asked, closing my eyes as though that would help the shaking.

"Y-Yes…" Beth's muffled voice answered back.

"Beth, it's okay." I said, trying to convince her of something I knew deep down wasn't true. "Everything is going to be okay."

The crying started again.

"They're coming for us." I said louder. "They're going to come for us…"

The door to the closet suddenly opened. It was the unnamed man.

"No talking." He said simply, getting down on one knee to gag me.

I glared up at him. I didn't want him to see me like he had seen Beth. I wanted to be strong like Carol had been, even in the end. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry.

"I heard what you said." The unnamed man said after he had gagged me, pulling the bandana tightly around my head. "They don't know where you are. They won't come."

"You don't know them." I tried to say through my gag.

The unnamed man laughed.

"I know Ernie clipped one of them." The unnamed man said, and I couldn't hide the fear in my eyes. "Oh, yeah. Ernie clipped one of them, maybe he even got them. Which one was it…"

The unnamed man was grinning as he saw the terror in my eyes, wondering who had been injured, or even killed.

"Oh, yeah." The unnamed man snapped his fingers. "I remember which one it was. It was definitely the dirty looking one. It was the man with the crossbow."

My heart started pounding as Daryl's face flickered through my mind. I remembered him laid up in bed at the farmhouse after he had been injured looking for Sophia.

"I guess he means something to you." The unnamed man's grin widened. "I guess I should say that he _meant_ something to you."

I watched as he got up off the floor. He stood over me.

"When you see me again, it means it's your time." The unnamed man said.

Then, the closet door closed again.


	16. Mine

_When You Say Nothing At All_

**Mine**

**Edy12345: **I hope it wasn't so intense that you were uncomfortable, and yes, poor Carol indeed. Here's your update!

**BlackRose851: **Thank you!

**ScornedxRose: **I'm sorry! Hahaha. I hope you're all right!

**FanFicGirl10: **I'm sorry to you too! I definitely did NOT kill off Daryl. I'm not heartbroken that Carol is dead either, and wouldn't be if she was killed on the show, but I'm sad that she died in such a horrible way. Here's your update!

**Jofrench22: **Those men were very cruel, but they're like the men in Randall's group. If the world ever experienced an apocalypse like the one in The Walking Dead, I have no doubt that there would be people who would use it as an opportunity to prey on others.

0o0o0

I knew somethin' was wrong the second I saw the SUV speedin' up the dirt path. Everyone stopped drivin' the stakes into the trench. I was up and out of the trench before anyone else. I ran towards the car as it came to a stop a few feet from the trench. T-Dog limped out.

"What happened?" I asked, walkin' up to him.

"Carol, Beth…and Roslyn are missing." T-Dog said, repeatin' himself when others came over.

"What?" I snapped, takin' a step towards T-Dog. "What the hell do you mean they're missin'?"

"My sister?" Maggie asked, holdin' onto Glenn.

"What happened?" Rick asked, comin' up next to me.

I heard Dennis say his sister's name from behind me. If I wasn't so concerned and fuckin' angry, I would've told the son of a bitch to shut up.

"Carol was on watch out front." T-Dog said. "Hershel said that Beth and Roslyn were going to take breakfast out to her. When Hershel came downstairs after checking in on Lori, all three of them were…gone."

"Where the fuck were you?" I asked, takin' another step towards T-Dog, but Rick held me back.

"I was taking watch out back." T-Dog said. "Carl and Sophia were keeping me company."

I fought my way past Rick and brushed past T-Dog towards the car.

"Wait a second, Daryl." Rick said from behind me. "How do we know that they didn't go looking for any supplies in the neighborhood?"

"Beth wouldn't have run off without telling my dad." Maggie said.

"We already looked." T-Dog said before I could say a word. "They're not in the development."

"We have to be calm, cool, and collected about this-"

"Fuck that." I snapped, turnin' around. "Would you be sayin' that if it was one of your own missin'?"

"Daryl-"

"Rick, he's right." Dennis said. "The sooner we act, the better chance we'll have of finding them."

"We'll take the van." Glenn said, grabbin' Maggie. "We'll look-"

"Hang on a minute!" Rick shouted. "We have to be smart about this. We have no idea where they are, who took them, how many of them there are-"

"Exactly, Grimes." I snarled, walkin' towards him. "We got no idea."

"I know you're upset." Rick said. "I understand that, but we have to regroup and come up with a plan before we make a move. If you were in your right mind, you would agree."

"My right mind?"

"Roslyn wouldn't want this to turn into a fight." Dennis said all quiet, gettin' in between me and Rick. "Let's head back to the house and think of something."

"Let's go then." I said, pointin' to the vehicles. "Let's get fuckin' goin'."

I rode in the car with T-Dog and Dennis. I didn't say a goddamn word. I was too fuckin' pissed to go off on T-Dog for not bein' there when Roslyn got taken or to get up in Dennis' dumb face for gettin' between me and Rick. All I wanted to do was get out lookin' for Roslyn. That was where my head was.

When we got back to the house, everyone was waitin'.

"All right. Here's what we're going to do." Rick said, gettin' everyone together. "I want everyone to split into two groups. We're going to comb this neighborhood for any clues as to where the girls might have been taken to. We'll meet back here in a half hour."

"If we don't find shit, I'm goin' out there." I said.

"My daughter is out there too." Hershel said. "I want to find her, but if Rick says we should take our time and be rational, that's what we're going to do."

"Meanwhile, who knows what's happenin' to them." I snapped.

"Daryl!" Rick shouted, glarin' at me.

"Let's get going." Dennis said. "We could be out looking for clues instead of arguing."

We split up into two groups, but I wandered ahead of my group anyways. They could all take their time if they wanted to, but I wasn't going to fuck around with time while Roslyn was missin'. I tried not to think about what could be happenin' to her. I couldn't help but think about Randall and his group. It was enough to make me want to shoot the first person who looked at me wrong.

I searched the street and the lawns for any sign of a struggle. There weren't any signs that a scuffle had taken place, but that didn't mean there wasn't one. I was gettin' impatient. We needed to get out there and look for the girls. We were just wastin' time.

When we met back at the house, the other group hadn't had any luck either.

"It's time to get out there and look." I said. "I'm goin', even if that means goin' alone."

"You're not going out there by yourself." Rick said. "What if something happened to you? None of us would know where to look for you. You could be killed."

"Those girls could be dead by now!" I roared, slammin' my hands down on the table.

Nobody said shit. They all knew I was fuckin' right.

"If whoever took them wanted them dead this quickly," Rick said calmly, "they would have just killed them outright in front of the house. They wouldn't have taken the time to quietly sneak them away. That just wouldn't make sense."

"This world don't make sense." I said. "None of this fuckin' makes sense."

"I'm willing to make a compromise." Rick said. "I'll allow a few of you to take a car out for a few hours. Look for any sign of the girls. I want you back before sunset. We'll figure out what to do from there."

"I'm drivin'." I said, headin' for the door.

"You're staying here." Rick said, meetin' me at the door. "If you leave, you won't come back."

"You better let me go, Grimes." I threatened, holdin' onto the strap of my crossbow.

"You need to stay here." Rick said, keepin' calm. "What if whoever took the girls comes back? What if they come back to loot the house or take more of us?"

"I'll go." Dennis said, comin' over to the door. "Would it make you feel better if I went?"

I wanted to tell him no. I wanted to tell him what a son of a bitch he was, but the truth was, if I couldn't go, I wanted Dennis out there. So, I nodded.

"All right." Rick turned away from me. "Dennis, Glenn, and Maggie, go on out."

I grabbed Dennis as he was leavin'.

"You fuckin' find her." I told him. "You fuckin' find her. Don't fuckin' come back here without her, or at least somethin' that we can go off of to find her. You got me?"

"I understand." Dennis said.

I watched them go. Even though I wanted to be there when Roslyn was found, I wanted her safe and sound more. If that meant me waitin' at the house for the others to bring her back, then I would.

0o0o0

I waited by the windows while they were gone. I didn't move from that spot. I held onto my crossbow, watchin' for any sign of them. When the sun started to set, they finally came back. I knew right away that they hadn't found the girls. I waited for them to come inside with an explanation.

"Did you find anything?" I asked when Dennis came through the door.

"No." Dennis said. "They must have taken the girls into the woods."

"Rick, we have to get out there." Maggie said, beatin' me to it. "We have to go look for them."

"We can't go running around in the woods at night." Rick said. "Remember when we were looking for Sophia? We never went out after dark. It's too dangerous."

"Rick is right." Hershel said. "I don't want you getting lost out there."

"Beth is out there." Maggie said.

"We'll all go in one, big group." Glenn said. "We'll stick together."

"I'm goin' whether you like it or not." I said. "I did it your way, now I'm gonna do it my way."

All of a sudden, the glass in front of me shattered. At the same time, I felt a burnin' sensation on the side of my arm. I knew what had happened. A bullet had grazed me.

Everyone behind me was shoutin' and shufflin' around. I dropped to one knee, aimin' my crossbow out the window. When I saw movement across the street, I fired. A man flew out of the bushes, landin' on the ground with a thud. He didn't get back up. My arrow was in his throat.

Rick and Dennis were yellin' after me, but I headed out the front door. I loaded my crossbow again before runnin' across the street. I aimed all around, waitin' for someone else to make themselves known. I knelt down next to the dead man. I ripped my arrow out of his throat, blood sprayin' me.

I heard footsteps behind me. I whirled around, aimin' my crossbow. It was only Rick and Dennis. They helped me bring the dead man inside.

"The others must've run off." I muttered, kickin' the corpse.

"Maybe there weren't any others." Lori said.

"Of course there were others." I spit onto the dead man's face. "You think this motherfucker was able to get all three of those girls all on his own?"

"Let's search him for clues." Rick said.

"My pleasure." I said, gettin' down next to the dead man.

"Why don't you let Hershel patch you up?"

"I got grazed by a damn bullet." I said, searchin' through pockets. "I'm fine."

I felt somethin' in one pocket. I pulled whatever it was out. It was a key.

"What the hell is this?" I asked, holdin' the key up for everyone to see. "It looks like a damn motel key or somethin'."

"The label says, 'Brown Tree Inn'." Rick said. "Does that sound familiar to anyone?"

"It does to me." Maggie said, takin' the key from me. "I recognize this key."

"Maggie?" Hershel asked.

"This is more important right now." Maggie said. "I know where this motel is."

"What are we waitin' for?" I asked, gettin' up off the ground. "Let's get goin'."

"Daryl, this is a start, but I still think we should wait until morning." Rick said. "I promise that we'll leave here at first light. Until then, we need to stay here."

"This is bullshit." I growled.

"Daryl-"

"Look, I'm goin' whether you want me to or not." I snapped. "You can either have Maggie tell me where the inn is so that I can get there faster, or not. Either way, I'm goin'."

Rick sighed.

An hour later, Rick, Dennis, Glenn, Maggie, and I were headin' out on foot. We were armed and equipped with flashlights. Maggie lead the way as we trekked from the house and into the woods. As we walked, I flickered my flashlight around the ground, lookin' for any sign of Roslyn or the others.

All of a sudden, my flashlight caught somethin' on the ground. I got down on one knee, pickin' the shiny item up. It was Roslyn's mood ring.

_"You got this for me?" Roslyn asked._

_ "It ain't much, but it's better than nothin'." I said, holdin' up Roslyn's hand._

_ I slid the ring onto Roslyn's finger. I knew where I put it. I meant where I put it. Roslyn was mine. I wanted everyone and anyone to know that she was my girl. I watched the ring change colors. When it turned purple, and stayed purple, I knew for sure how Roslyn felt._

_ "Happy birthday."_

The ring was still purple. I growled.

"What is it?" Rick asked, shinin' his flashlight on me.

"We're goin' the right way." I mumbled, walkin' up with Maggie so I was at the front.

As the trees started to thin out, I walked faster than Maggie. I was practically runnin' by the time I broke through the trees. On the other side of the road was the motel. As I started towards it, I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Rick.

"Hang on." Rick whispered. "Let's talk it out for a minute."

"Maggie and I will take the back of the motel." Glenn said.

"I'm goin' for the first door." I said.

"Dennis, you come from the left." Rick said. "I'll come from the right.

We split off. I had my crossbow ready as I got closer to that first door. Rick was ready to back me up. Dennis was comin' from the other side.

When I was in front of the door, I kicked it the fuck in.

There was a body on the floor. It was covered in a blanket. Blood was soaking through it and the carpet beneath it.

"Rick…" I gasped, backin' away from the body.

"It's okay, Daryl." Rick said, movin' past me into the room.

I watched as Rick slowly pulled the blanket back. It was Carol. Her head had been blown off.

"No…" Dennis whispered, goin' into the room.

About that time, I heard gunshots comin' from the back of the motel.

"I'm going." Rick said, runnin' past me. "Find Beth and Roslyn."

I left Dennis with Carol. As I approached the next door, I heard commotion inside. I flung the door open, aimin' my crossbow into the room. A man was pullin' Beth out of a closet. She was in her underwear. I fired an arrow, piercin' the guy's shoulder. He cried out and let go of Beth. She crumpled on the floor in tears.

"You sick fuck!" I shouted, tossin' my crossbow onto the bed.

"No, please…" The man gasped in pain.

"Tell me where she is!"

I grabbed the arrow, tuggin' on it. The man groaned in pain as I threatened to pull the arrow out.

"She's right there…" The man said.

"Where's the other girl?!"

"I don't know…Travis was in charge of her…"

I wrenched the arrow loose from his shoulder. He screamed out in pain, but was soon silent when he went into shock. I raised the arrow over my head, stabbin' it into the man's eye. When I pulled it loose, blood and other fluid sprayed up at me.

I left Beth cryin' on the floor to go and find Roslyn. I went into the next room. It was empty. I went with my gut that she might be in the closet like Beth had been. I went to the closet and opened the door.

Roslyn began screamin' as I opened the door. She covered her face with her arms, which were tied together with white rope. She was in her bra and underwear.

"Roslyn." I said as soft as I could, gettin' on the ground. "Baby, it's me."

Roslyn kept screamin'.

"Baby," I pulled her arms down, "baby, it's me. It's Daryl."

Roslyn finally seemed to realize it was me. She looked up at me, tears dry on her face.

"I'm goin' to get you out of here." I said, untying the gag from around her mouth.

The corners of her mouth were bleedin'. Her wrists were rubbed raw, and so were her ankles. I untied the ropes as gently as I could. When she was free, I started takin' off my vest. I pulled it around her, buttonin' it up over her body. As I did, I saw a bruise the size and shape of a foot across Roslyn's ribs. I tried to touch it, but Roslyn shrank away from me.

"Hershel will look at it back at the house." I said, reachin' for Roslyn.

I gathered her up into my arms. She wrapped her arms around my neck, leanin' into me as I pulled her out of the closet and carried her out of the motel room. Dennis was holdin' Beth in his arms in a similar way. His eyes widened when he saw me.

"Is she-"

"She's alive." I said, knowin' that she wasn't fine.

Rick, Glenn, and Maggie emerged from the back of the motel not long after Dennis and I found the girls. Maggie was all over her sister, who was in shock like she had been back on the farm.

"Glenn and I will go back for a car." Rick said. "Stay here with them."

"No…there are…there are others coming." Beth said suddenly. "We can't…we can't stay here-"

"It's okay, Beth." Maggie said.

"I can carry Roslyn back to the house." I said, already startin' across the road.

I didn't care if the others followed me or not, but I heard them comin' after me. I held Roslyn close to me as I carried her through the trees. She didn't move at all in my arms. I kept lookin' down at her to make sure she was still breathin'. Her eyes were open. She was starin' off into space. I wasn't even sure if she was blinkin'.

I decided to leave her be as I carried her through the woods. It was enough for me for the time bein' that she was alive. The rest would come later.

When we got back to the house, Hershel guided Dennis and I upstairs to lay Beth and Roslyn in bed for him to examine. While Hershel checked the girls over, Rick, Lori, and Dennis took Sophia out onto the back porch to tell her that her mama was dead. I knew when they told her, 'cause I could hear the little girl cryin' all the way from the front of the house.

I waited in the livin' room with Glenn, Maggie, T-Dog, and Carl to hear about Beth and Roslyn. None of us said a word.

After a while, Hershel came downstairs.

"They're going to be all right." Hershel said as we all stood up. "Beth is more emotionally fragile than physically. Her wrists and ankles are raw from the ropes…she's going to be okay."

"Roslyn?" I asked.

"I suspect that her ribs are bruised. They might even be broken." Hershel said. "The important thing is that, even if they are broken, they aren't impeding her breathing and didn't puncture any of her organs. I wrapped her torso, but there's little to be done. She just needs to rest. Her ribs will heal themselves over time."

"Can we see them?" Maggie asked.

"I'd rather you didn't." Hershel said. "At least not tonight. They've been through a trauma. They need to rest."

I wanted to go to Roslyn, but remembered the look on her face as I carried her through the woods. I thought maybe the old man was right.

"Son, let me patch that up." Hershel said, pointin' at my arm. "I can do it right here."

"All right." I said, sittin' back down.

"We'll make dinner." Maggie said, tuggin' on Glenn.

"I don't know that anyone will be hungry enough to eat." Glenn said.

"We'll make food anyways." Maggie said, touchin' T-Dog's and Carl's shoulders. "You both should take watch. Glenn and I will take over for you after we make dinner."

Everyone left, leavin' Hershel and I alone.

"I appreciate what you did for my little girl." Hershel said, rollin' up my sleeve.

"What?" I asked.

"Beth said a few words while I was with her." Hershel reached into his bag. "She said that you arrived just in time…"

"It was nothin'." I muttered, watchin' the old man clean my wound.

"It was something." Hershel said, lookin' up at me. "It was everything."

I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to say.

"Roslyn is going to need you." Hershel said. "I have reason to believe that…the girls may have seen…something being done to Carol."

"What?" I asked.

"I don't believe that Beth or Roslyn were…_violated_, but…"

"Are you finished with this?" I asked, lookin' at my wound.

"Yes." Hershel said.

I got up from the couch to go upstairs. When I was upstairs, I went right into the bathroom. I turned on the water. I didn't check to see if it was cold or hot. It didn't matter. I stood in front of the bathroom mirror. I stared at myself.

_Roslyn, wearin' nothin' but her bra and underwear, shiverin' in a dark closet. Her wrists and ankles tied in rope, keepin' her from gettin' away, diggin' into her skin. Gagged, the corners of her mouth bleedin' from the tightness of the bandana. Tears fallin' down her cheeks. Her ribs achin' and bruised…_

I slammed my fist into the mirror, shatterin' the glass. The pieces fell into the sink.

0o0o0

I was woken up by a hand shakin' my shoulder. I opened my eyes, nearly grabbin' for my crossbow until I saw that it was Rick standin' over me.

"What's wrong?" I asked, sittin' up. "What happened?"

"Beth had a nightmare. She was screaming in her sleep." Rick whispered. "When Hershel went to check on her, he checked in on Roslyn. She wasn't in her bed."

I leapt off the couch.

"Hang on." Rick held up his hands. "She's here."

"Where is she?" I asked.

"She's in the bathroom." Rick said. "The shower is running. We have no idea how long she's been in there, but she won't speak to any of us or come out. I thought she might respond better to you."

I didn't need to hear anymore. I started up the stairs. Hershel was standin' outside the bathroom door. When he saw me comin', he stood aside.

"The door is unlocked." Hershel said.

I opened the door. The bathroom was full of steam. The shower must've been runnin' a long time.

"Roslyn?"

I walked to the shower. I could see her figure through the frosty glass. She was on the floor. I opened the door to the shower. She was huddled under the water. She was huggin' her knees to her chest. She was starin' at the floor.

I stepped inside of the shower. The water soaked through my clothes as I got down on the floor behind Roslyn. I wrapped my arms around her, pullin' her to my chest.

"Roslyn?" I talked in her ear. "Talk to me, Roslyn."

She didn't say anything. She hadn't reacted when I touched her.

"Let's get you out of the water." I said. "It's goin' to get cold soon."

I pulled Roslyn to her feet. She was dead weight. I held her up, decidin' after a moment to just pick her up in my arms like before. I carried her out of the shower. I stopped only to drape a towel over her so that she was covered when I stepped out into the hall.

I carried Roslyn into the empty bedroom. I laid her in the bed, towelin' her off from head to toe. When she was no longer wet, I dressed her in the set of clothes she usually wore to bed. They had been on the floor of the bedroom. The whole time I dried her off and dressed her, she stared up at the ceiling'. She didn't speak to me.

"Go to sleep, baby." I whispered.

I sat down on the edge of the bed, watchin' Roslyn as she refused to sleep. After a while, her lids began to droop. The stubborn girl fell asleep.

A few minutes later, there was a gentle knock at the door. I hurried to answer it before the knockin' would start again and wake Roslyn. It was Hershel with a set of dry clothes for me.

I changed into the dry clothes before sittin' back down on the bed. I watched Roslyn as she slept. Even in her sleep, her expression was dead. Usually, she looked so peaceful. She looked like she was a corpse. The thought sent shivers runnin' down my spine.

I sat watchin' Roslyn all night, even when my eyes grew heavy. I only left her when it was time for me to take watch.

0o0o0

"Beth has agreed to talk with us." Hershel said, comin' downstairs. "She'll be down in a minute."

"Lori and Maggie, will you take the kids…?" Rick asked.

"Come on, guys." Maggie said, gettin' to her feet.

When Lori and Maggie had taken the kids outside, Hershel went to the bottom of the stairs. He motioned for Beth to come down. She came downstairs, holdin' Roslyn's hand. Even though it seemed like it should've been the other way around with the state Roslyn was in, it looked like Beth needed the comfort more than Roslyn did.

Beth and Roslyn sat down on the couch. Roslyn stared at the floor.

"I know it's hard for you to talk about," Rick said, "but we need to know what happened. We need to know what we're dealing with."

"Take your time." Hershel said.

It was quiet for a long time. I was watchin' Roslyn, hopin' she'd shown some sign that she was snappin' out of whatever trance she was in.

"We…we were taking breakfast to Carol." Beth said, finally talkin'. "We forgot to bring a fork…so Roslyn went back inside to get it. I went out of the fence…and…and a man grabbed me."

Beth closed her eyes real tight.

"He told me that if I made a sound…his friend would shoot Carol." Beth said. "There were three of them. They all had guns."

Beth gripped Roslyn's hand tighter. If it hurt, Roslyn didn't show it.

"When Roslyn came out of the fence…the last man grabbed her too." Beth said. "They took us to a truck. They…they tied us up…and gagged us. They said if we tried anything…"

"You did the right thing." Hershel said. "You all did the right thing."

"What happened next, Beth?" Rick asked.

"Roslyn and Carol…they tried to get us out of the truck." Beth looked over at Roslyn. "They tried kicking open the tailgate…but the men noticed. They…they tied our legs."

Roslyn's eyes looked up at me for just a second. I gave her a nod. I was tellin' her with that nod what I wanted to say out loud, but didn't: 'good girl'.

"What happened after they took you to the motel?" Rick asked.

Beth began to cry.

"They…they questioned us. They wanted to know how many of us there were…and how many guns we had." Beth was cryin'. "We didn't say anything…so they hit Carol. Then…they hit Roslyn."

I could feel my face changin' just thinkin' about someone hittin' Roslyn. My eyes were on fire.

"When we still wouldn't say anything…they…they threatened to shoot Roslyn and I." Beth was cryin' harder. "They…they put guns to…to the back of our heads. They said…they said they would shoot us if we didn't talk."

I thought about a gun bein' held to Roslyn's head. The blood in my veins was boilin'. I was clenchin' my fists to keep from takin' my anger out on the nearest thing or person to me.

"Carol…Carol lied." Beth cried. "She said…she said there were only three more. She said…she said we only had a few guns."

Beth sniffed. She was tryin' to stop cryin'.

"They mentioned that there were more of them." Beth said. "They said there were more coming…that they would be back by the end of the week."

"Did they say how many?" Rick asked.

"No."

"Roslyn?"

Roslyn didn't take her eyes off the floor, but she shook her head.

"Go on, Beth." Rick said.

"They separated us. They put us in different rooms."

"What happened after they got back that night?" Rick asked.

Beth closed her eyes. Tears were comin' out again.

"Please…" Beth whispered. "Please…don't make me tell…"

"Please, Beth." Hershel said.

Beth opened her eyes. She was cryin' even more.

"They…they…they brought us all together again." Beth shook her head. "Please. I don't want to say anymore. Please."

Hershel got up and put his arms around Beth. He whispered in her ear. Whatever he was sayin' worked, 'cause she started talkin' when he leaned away from her.

"They…they were angry with Carol for lying to them." Beth cried, still holdin' onto Roslyn's hand. "They said…they said that since Carol lied…they were going to…hurt me."

Beth turned towards Roslyn.

"Roslyn wouldn't let them hurt me." Beth was sobbin' like a baby. "Roslyn told them to get away from me…so they hurt her instead. They kicked her…over and over again."

Roslyn pulled Beth to her. Her expression didn't change. She still stared with dead eyes at the floor, but her actions were different. She held Beth to her in a carin' way. It was somethin' she would do normally, but her face…

"They raped her!" Beth suddenly screamed in Roslyn's arms. "They raped Carol! Roslyn watched them do it, but I couldn't even watch!"

Hershel moved onto the couch. He put his arms around Beth from behind.

"Carol and Roslyn…they were so brave…" Beth cried. "They were so brave…but I just cried and cried…I just cried. I was so scared. I was so scared."

"You all did what you had to." Hershel said. "You did what you had to do to survive."

Beth was cryin' into Roslyn. Roslyn had her cheek restin' on Beth's head.

"Why don't you take Beth upstairs to rest?" Rick said to Hershel.

"That sounds like a good idea." Hershel said, getting' up off the couch.

Hershel helped Beth upstairs. Glenn got up off the floor to help the old man.

"Roslyn, is there anything else that we should know?" Rick asked.

Roslyn shook her head.

"Are you sure?" Rick asked. "If you don't feel comfortable talking, I can get you something to write on, or if you would rather talk only to Daryl…"

Roslyn shook her head again.

"All right." Rick said. "Roslyn, you should rest too. I want everybody else out on the back porch."

I was about to go to Roslyn, but she was already headin' up the stairs. I watched her go.

"She'll be okay, Daryl." Rick said. "She just needs time."

"Yeah." I said, still watchin' the stairs.

"Come on." Rick said. "We have a lot to talk about."

I went out onto the back porch. After a while, everyone was settled in. The kids were in the livin' room while the rest of us talked. Hershel came out onto the porch last. He said that Beth was sleepin' and that Roslyn was sittin' with her.

"These men that took the girls made a comment about there being others." Rick said. "I think that we need to take that comment very seriously."

"They could have been bluffing." T-Dog said.

"I don't think so." Dennis said. "There really was no reason to make the girls believe there were more men coming. They already had them…"

"I agree." Rick said. "We don't know for sure, but if there are more men, they might have been left a note or a clue leading them here. We can't risk that."

"What are you saying?" Lori asked.

"I'm saying that we need to move into the farmhouse." Rick said.

"We have power here." Lori said. "We have a running refrigerator and freezer that we can store food in. We have a washer and dryer that keep our clothes clean. We have electricity-"

"Our safety is more important than those things." Rick said.

"What if those men have no way of tracking us down here?" Lori asked.

"Do you want to take that chance?" I asked. "Are you gonna be the one to explain to Hershel why one or both of his girls got taken, raped, killed? Do you want to tell me that Roslyn…"

I couldn't finish the thought. I was still tryin' to control my bloodlust after hearin' all the sick details of what those men had done to the girls, what they would've done to Roslyn had we not found her.

"We move to the farmhouse tomorrow." Rick said. "My decision is final."

"We need to start packing up the cars." Glenn said. "We need to take as much of the supplies with us as we can."

"Let's get started."

0o0o0

We spent most of the day packin' up the cars. After a while, I decided to pull the bike out and do a once over. I hadn't used it in a while. I wanted to make sure it was still in one piece and functional. While I was checkin' it over, Dennis came over.

"I wanted to talk to you for a minute, if that's all right?"

"What do you want?" I asked, proppin' the bike on its kickstand.

"I wanted to say thank you." Dennis said, surprisin' me. "If you hadn't pushed to get out there and find Roslyn, something…well, something even worse than what _did_ happen could have happened."

I didn't say anything. He was right.

"I also wanted to apologize."

"For what?" I asked.

"From the beginning, I haven't given you the chance that you deserve. I've judged you by how you look, how you talk, and that isn't right." Dennis said. "You're an asset to this group, and you and my sister…well, you guys obviously care about each other a lot."

I didn't know what to think about what Dennis was sayin'. There wasn't anyone around. I could deny that he ever thanked me and apologized to me. He wasn't doin' it for anyone other than for himself and for me. It still didn't change what he did to Roslyn, but some part of me appreciated the apology. It wasn't often that people said they were sorry for judgin' me because of my last name or my dirty clothes or my thick accent.

"I just wanted you to know that, at least from my side, everything is all right between us."

"Okay." I said.

Dennis held out his hand for me to shake. I rubbed my hand off on my pants first, but I shook his hand.

"Can I help you with anything here?"

"Nah." I shook my head. "I was just finishin' up."

"All right." Dennis said.

I watched him go.

0o0o0

I went to get Roslyn for dinner, but she wasn't in the bedroom she had been stayin' in. I just so happened to glance out the window, and I saw her sittin' out on the flat part of the roof.

I climbed out of the window and made my way to where she was sittin'. I sat down next to her.

"What're you doin' out here?" I asked, knowin' she wasn't goin' to answer.

Roslyn was lookin' up at the sky. It was changin' colors with the sunset.

"If you ain't gonna talk to me, then I'll just talk to you." I said. "If I had to guess, knowin' you, there are a few reasons you're actin' the way you are. You just stop me when I'm right."

I saw Roslyn sideways glancin' at me.

"If you're feelin' guilty, you better knock it off." I said. "I've told you a million times not to feel guilty about things you got to do to stay alive. There was nothin' you could've done, and what little you could do, you did. When you didn't have a gun on you, you tried gettin' out of the truck. When you felt like you could defend Beth, you did."

Roslyn still didn't say nothin'.

"If that ain't it, maybe you're feelin' bad about all the bad stuff you've seen." I said. "You've seen a lot of bad shit since this all started. You saw all those old people you cared about die. You saw your friend die. You almost got killed that day in town. You saw another friend die. Then, all this happened."

Roslyn looked down at her feet.

"I'm thinkin' maybe it's a little bit of both." I said. "Am I right?"

When Roslyn stayed quiet, I reached into my pocket. I pulled out the mood ring.

"Are you feelin' sad 'cause you think you lost this for good?" I asked, holdin' out the ring.

Roslyn looked over at me.

"Let me put this back on your finger." I said, reachin' for her hand. "Then, let me tell you somethin'."

I put the ring on Roslyn's finger where it belonged. I watched the stone for a minute, but then looked up at Roslyn's eyes.

I could tell I startled her when I grabbed her shoulders, pullin' her closer to me. Her eyes widened. She almost made a sound.

"You're mine." I said, hearin' the emotions in my voice. "You're mine, girl. That means that if anybody looks at you the wrong way, if they even look like they're thinkin' of you the wrong way, they're gonna die. They're gonna die because I'm gonna kill them."

I saw tears wellin' up in Roslyn's eyes. I was glad. It was a sign she was alive in there.

"You're mine, Roslyn." I said, movin' one hand to her face. "I'm not gonna let anything like what happened ever happen again. Someone'll have to take you over my dead body before they get you…because I'd rather die…than ever see you hurtin' the way you have been over what happened."

Tears were spillin' down Roslyn's cheeks. I knew there were tears in my eyes too.

"You're mine, girl." I said, pullin' Roslyn into my arms.

I felt Roslyn shakin' in my arms. I knew she was cryin'. I held her like I never wanted to let her go, because I didn't want to ever let her go. I wanted to hold that girl forever. It made me want to hold her even more when she held me back like she felt the same way, and she was.

When we pulled apart, I dried the tears from her face.

"You ready to go inside?" I asked, holdin' Roslyn's face.

Roslyn nodded.

I looked down at her hand as I let go of her. The ring on her finger was glowin' purple.

When we got inside, we all sat down to dinner. It was pretty quiet. Then, suddenly, from beside me, there was a sound none of us had heard in a while.

"…could someone please pass the water?" Roslyn asked.

I looked over at the girl sittin' next to me. She was lookin' up at me.

"Of course." Lori said, smilin' while she passed the pitcher our way.


	17. Conversations

_When You Say Nothing At All_

**Conversations**

**ScornedxRose: **Is Travis dead? Is he alive? I don't know. We'll see…

**BlackRose851: **Thank you!

**Edy12345: **I'm glad it was an intense experience for you. Here's your update!

**blueberrybunny3630: **Hahaha. THE FEEEEEEEEELS.

**FanFicGirl10: **Yes! You don't have to be worried anymore! Yeah, it was a long time coming for Dennis to apologize to Daryl. He's coming around. Purple usually means something along the lines of: happiness, passion, and/or love. I think it varies with different mood rings, but that's usually been my experience. Here's your update!

**Wolflihood: **Aww. Did you need a tissue? Bless your heart

**JadedTinks: **I'm glad that you loved it!

**Leyshla Gisel: **I agree with you on that one. I wouldn't wish that ending on anybody.

**Emmieroo: **Hahaha. Right in the feels! Daryl definitely has his moments where he can be such a softy. I'm glad that's shining through in my writing. Thank you!

0o0o0

After dinner, Lori came right over to me. I had been surprised by her response to my question at dinner. She had been so pleasant towards me. I didn't know if it was pity, or if she was over what had happened between us after the herd passed through the farm. She asked if we could talk. After I agreed to speak with her, she led me out onto the back porch.

"I've put this off long enough, but if you don't feel up to talking about what happened between us, I would understand completely." Lori said, turning around to face me.

"I'm all right." I replied. "I think it would be good for us to talk."

"Good." Lori gave me a faint smile. "Would you like to sit down?"

"Sure." I said, taking a seat on the couch T-Dog usually slept on.

Lori sat down next to me. She balanced her elbow on the back of the couch, her hand in her hair.

"I'm so sorry for what happened to you." Lori murmured after a while. "I just wanted you to know that before we talked about anything else."

"Thank you."

"First of all, I wanted to apologize for hitting you." Lori said. "No matter how I was feeling or what you said to me, it wasn't okay for me to put my hands on you. I've never done that before, and I don't intend on doing it again."

I nodded.

"I understand that you have a lot of confidence in Rick, and believe me, I appreciate that more than you will ever know." Lori stressed with her other hand. "What you have to understand is, before Rick came back into our lives, Shane was our leader. He conducted himself much differently than Rick. His rules and the way he kept our group safe…he was just different."

"I totally get that." I replied, remembering Shane perfectly well.

"You've only ever really known Rick's leadership. The rest of us, we lived under Shane's leadership for a while." Lori explained. "Some of us…we just don't always agree with Rick or understand why he makes the decisions he makes."

"Even you?" I asked, already knowing the answer to the question.

"Even me." Lori replied quietly, looking down. "There have been many times where I haven't understood Rick's choices. I've tried to be supportive of him as his wife, but there comes a time when I have to decide if being the dutiful wife or being a protective mother to my son is more important."

"Don't you think that Rick has Carl's best interest in mind?"

"I think he tries." Lori said, looking out the window. "The problem is that Rick is so busy looking out for everyone that he doesn't have enough time to focus only on his family. Carl has drifted away from him, from me…"

Lori bit her lip. She looked over at me.

"What I'm trying to say is that it's okay for you to have your own opinions, but not everyone is going to share your thoughts and feelings." Lori said. "There will be times when we'll all disagree. More often than not, that will be the case. You have to be respectful of that."

"I can do that." I said with a nod.

"I know you can." Lori replied, faintly smiling like before.

Suddenly, the sliding door opened. T-Dog stood in the doorway.

"I can come back if-"

"We were just finishing up." Lori interrupted him, getting to her feet. "She's all yours."

"Thanks for talking to me, Lori." I said, watching her go.

"Thank you for listening." Lori replied, turning to smile at me before she left T-Dog and I alone.

"What's up with that?" T-Dog asked, pointing with his thumb. "I thought you two were sworn enemies or something."

"What?" I asked, laughing as T-Dog closed the screen door.

"I don't know." T-Dog shrugged with a grin as he settled in next to me on the couch.

"What's up?" I asked.

T-Dog's grin melted off his face. He suddenly looked very serious.

"I feel like…" T-Dog looked up at me. "I feel like it's my fault that you guys got taken-"

"What?" I asked, sitting forward. "Why would you even think that?"

"Daryl said-"

"Okay." I put my hands out. "Disregard whatever it is that Daryl said. He was upset. He was scared. He would have blamed anybody at that point. You were in his line of fire for whatever reason."

"I should have taken watch out front." T-Dog said, shaking his head.

"Why?" I asked. "We're all expected to take watch in both the front and back of the house. We all take turns. It was your turn to watch the back. That was exactly what you were doing."

"I just feel so bad…" T-Dog hung his head. "Carol is dead. You two could have been killed too."

"It's not your fault." I said quietly, laying my hand on T-Dog's arm. "It's nobody's fault what happened, and if we sit here trying to pin the blame on somebody, we'll be here all night."

"You're my friend." T-Dog said, looking up at me. "You're my good friend, Roslyn. If something had happened to you, I would have been real upset."

"I know." I replied with a smile. "I would feel the same way if something happened to you."

It was quiet then. After a while, T-Dog patted my hand gently.

"I'm just glad you're all right, and that you're talking again." T-Dog smiled.

"Me too." I returned his smile. "I think I'm going to offer my services for watch. I don't want to get out of the habit of helping."

"I'm sure Rick understands why you weren't available."

"Even so." I shrugged, getting up off the couch. "I'll talk to you later, T."

I went out to see who was taking watch out front. Dennis was standing just inside of the fence. When he heard the door close behind me, he turned around.

"Is something wrong?" Dennis asked, meeting me halfway on the lawn.

"No." I replied. "I was going to relieve whoever was out here. I want to get back in the swing of things."

"You don't have to do that." Dennis said. "You've had a…particularly rough time over the past few days. A break would be good for you."

"I don't want a break."

Dennis just stared down at me. He didn't say anything. He just looked at me.

"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Suddenly, I was in Dennis' embrace. I was about to tell him that he was squeezing me so tightly that my ribs were throbbing, but when I felt him shaking, I decided to work through the pain. I managed to free me arms so that I could hug him back. It only made Dennis quiver more violently.

"It's okay, Dennis." I said softly, running a hand up and down his back.

"It's not okay." I heard Dennis choke out.

Dennis let go of me. He wiped his nose with the back of his hand.

"When you went missing, Daryl didn't owe you anything." Dennis said, wiping his eyes. "He didn't have to fight so hard to come after you. He didn't have to risk his life for you. He could have just forgotten all about you, or at least let other people look for you in his place."

I was confused as to why Dennis was saying what he was saying. I was about to ask what he was getting at, but he kept talking.

"I finally understood what you meant when you told me that I was selfish, and that you couldn't afford to be selfish when it came to Grandma and Grandpa." Dennis said. "Daryl could have been selfish. He could have thought of himself, but he didn't He thought about you, even though it meant going against what Rick wanted to do."

New tears worked their way down Dennis' cheeks.

"I'm so sorry that I made you feel that way." Dennis whispered. "I'm sorry that you had to grow up so soon because of me. I'm sorry that I wasn't a better brother to you."

I was stunned. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I didn't know what to say. I never thought that I would hear Dennis apologize for abandoning our grandparents and me. Now that he was actually saying he was sorry, I was speechless.

"You don't have to say anything." Dennis said, as if reading my mind. "I just wanted to make sure that you knew I was sorry, especially after what happened."

I nodded, still not knowing what to say.

"I'll come and wake you up when my shift is over." Dennis told me. "Get some rest."

"Okay." I replied.

I went back into the house. I noticed Sophia dozing on the couch in the living room. I went and sat down on the edge of the couch, watching her sleep. I felt bad for the poor kid.

"She sleepin'?"

I looked up to see Daryl coming down the stairs.

"Yeah." I whispered.

"I'll take her up." Daryl came over to the couch. "Lori is waitin' on her."

Daryl carefully picked Sophia up off the couch. In her sleep, she automatically wrapped her arms around Daryl's neck. He paused for a second, looking at her face. After a few moments, Daryl carried Sophia up the stairs to the bedroom she had once shared with her mom.

I went out onto the back porch. T-Dog was already passed out on the couch.

I settled into the sleeping bags and blankets on the floor. There was just enough padding that my ribs didn't ache from laying on the floor. When I was comfortable, Daryl came out onto the porch.

"You all right down there, girl?" Daryl asked quietly, getting down on the floor with me.

"I'm fine." I said.

"How're your ribs feelin'?" Daryl asked, running his hand gently over my torso. "They botherin' you at all?"

"I'm okay." I insisted, laying my hand over Daryl's.

Daryl lifted my hand to his face. He kissed my palm before pressing it to his cheek.

"Will you tell me something?" I asked.

"What?"

"Do you think we'll ever have a house together someday?"

"I told you I did." Daryl replied, pulling my hand away from his face. "This thing can't last forever, and even if it does, I'll build us a damn house somewhere."

"Tell me about our house." I said, closing my eyes. "You said you pictured it…"

I heard Daryl sigh.

"When I picture a home for us, I always think of a little cabin out in the woods…maybe near a stream or somethin'." Daryl mumbled. "This is embarrassing, Roslyn."

"Why?" I asked, opening my eyes.

Daryl muttered something under his breath, but I didn't hear him.

"What?" I asked.

"I don't want you to think I'm stupid." Daryl grumbled.

"When have I ever thought you were stupid?" I asked, furrowing my brow.

"I don't want you to start thinkin' it."

"Look," I ran my hand through Daryl's hair, "I'm never going to think you're stupid. If I ever did, it certainly wouldn't be about something like this."

Daryl didn't look convinced.

"Please?" I asked. "It will help me relax so that I can sleep."

Daryl sighed again, but he gave me a small smile. I smiled back before I closed my eyes.

"…I don't know if you like gardenin', but you could have one…if you wanted." Daryl muttered, still sounding self-conscious. "I could hunt in the woods, and build a little shed for processin' meat and whatnot. We could stock up on venison, or whatever you wanted."

"Keep going." I whispered, cuddling up to Daryl as I began feeling drowsy.

"I don't know why, but…" Daryl murmured, close to my ear. "I always imagine havin' a little girl runnin' around. I always see her playin' outside our little house."

A smile tugged at the corners of my lips. I think it encouraged Daryl to continue.

"There's a tire swing on one of the trees. She swings on it." Daryl ran his fingers through my hair. "She has blonde hair…just like yours."

"I didn't know you wanted kids." I mumbled sleepily.

"I never really thought about it…then, I met you." Daryl's fingers brushed my cheek. "I wouldn't mind havin' a little girl if she was like you."

I smiled.

"Go to sleep, girl." Daryl whispered, pressing his lips to my forehead. "We can talk about this more another time."

"Okay."

I leaned my head closer to Daryl's body. He snuggled up to me accordingly. I fell asleep easily with thoughts of a little house in the woods fluttering through my mind.

0o0o0

In the morning, we left the housing development behind. I rode on the back of Daryl's motorcycle. I hung onto him loosely. The reverberation of the bike was causing me some discomfort, but I tried to suck it up for the ride to the new house. Daryl seemed to notice, and rode slower than normal. I wanted to tell him not to worry, but it made me feel warm and fuzzy that he cared about me so much.

When we got to the house, I saw the trench for the first time. It was impressive, and definitely threatening. It was full of sharp sticks and branches that would impale anything or anyone that fell into the trench. It made me feel safer just looking at it.

Lori and Sophia were given a bedroom, as were Hershel and Beth. It was difficult to fill the third bedroom. Rick didn't want it, neither did Carl. Glenn and Maggie felt funny about taking a bedroom so close to Hershel and Beth. The third bedroom became neutral. Anyone who wanted it could use it.

We had water, but no power. We had stocked up on candles for when it got dark outside. Since we were without a fridge or freezer, it meant Daryl would have to hunt every day if we wanted meat. That made me uneasy, especially with winter coming.

"I think that, after we're settled, we should have a memorial service for Carol." Lori announced after Carl and Sophia went inside.

"I think that's a good idea." I agreed.

"Should we go back to the motel for her body?" Glenn asked.

"No." Rick shook his head. "If there are people there, we could lead them right back to this house."

"Is there a Bible in the house?" Hershel asked.

All of us scoured the house for a Bible. Glenn found one tucked in a drawer upstairs. After we finished unpacking the car, we all gathered together outside. Dennis held Sophia's hand.

"Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me show love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light. Where there is sadness, joy." Hershel said, holding the Bible in his hands. "Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen."

"Amen." Everyone murmured.

"I remember meeting Carol when this group came to be at my farm." Hershel said. "She was a very quiet, kind woman. She was a mother, seeking her child. She possessed unfailing faith that her daughter would be found. In her faith, Sophia was returned to her."

I looked over at Sophia, who was crying silently. Dennis put his arm around her.

"Carol is resting now. She is in a place where she can watch over her daughter, and all of us, in a place where there is no pain, no death. There is only everlasting life."

Dennis bent down to whisper in Sophia's ear. Sophia shook her head.

"I would like to say something about Carol." Dennis said, pulling Sophia close. "Carol shared a great deal of her life story with me. She told me all about her…_marriage_ to Ed."

Dennis cleared his throat.

"Even through all of Carol's pain, she was a very graceful and wonderful person." Dennis said. "Her joy in life was Sophia. There wasn't anything or anyone on this earth that mattered more to Carol than her precious daughter, and it showed."

It was quiet then. Everyone slowly dispersed.

I went to help Lori make lunch for everybody while Daryl went hunting. I wouldn't call the two of us friends, but it was nice not feeling any animosity between us. Even though we didn't speak, we smiled at each other several times while we made lunch.

After lunch, Maggie helped me clean up.

"Since we don't have power, I figured we could wash clothes in the tub." Maggie said. "That makes the most sense to me."

"I think that's a good idea." I agreed.

"Do you want to help me with laundry?" Maggie asked as we finished up in the kitchen.

"Sure." I shrugged. "I don't have to take watch for a while."

Maggie and I rounded up the clothes that needed to be washed. We filled the tub with hot water and began scrubbing down clothes with the soap we had. I kept catching Maggie looking at me. After a while, I finally looked over at her.

"What?" I asked.

Maggie stopped scrubbing Glenn's shirt. She looked at me.

"I wanted to ask you something." Maggie said quietly. "If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to…but-"

"Just ask me, Maggie." I interrupted.

Maggie sighed. She looked into the soapy water.

"Did…did those men who took you…did they…" Maggie looked back up at me. "Did they touch you? Did they touch Beth?"

"None of them touched me." I replied, taking my turn to look away. "The man who put me in the closet told me that…no. None of them touched me."

"What about my sister?"

"I don't know." I said, meeting Maggie's worried eyes. "I wasn't with Beth the whole time that we were at the motel. None of them touched her while I was with her."

Maggie nodded. She cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry that I asked you about it." Maggie said softly, scrubbing Glenn's shirt. "I shouldn't have brought that up. You've been doing so well, and I should have just let it be."

"It's fine." I replied, wringing out Daryl's shirt.

The only sounds being made for the next few minutes were the sounds of our scrubbing and water being splashed. After a time, I looked over at Maggie again.

"Did Beth say something to make you think that she was touched?" I asked.

Maggie let Rick's shirt sink to the bottom of the tub. She met my gaze.

"No." She murmured, her eyes flickering from the floor to my face. "I'm just worried about her. My dad says that she has a lot of trouble sleeping. She barely talks, and when she does…"

"I don't know what happened to Beth when I wasn't around." I said. "Maybe something happened. Maybe nothing happened. What I _can_ tell you is that what happened to Beth in front of me is plenty to have affected her the way it has."

I grabbed Maggie's hand under the water.

"If something happened, and Beth wants to tell you, she will when she's ready." I said. "Just be there for her. That's all you can do. Beth will decide when she's ready to move on or talk about anything that might have happened to her."

Maggie held my hand tighter in hers.

"I never got a chance to say thank you." Maggie murmured, her eyes shining with tears. "It means a lot to me knowing that you looked out for my sister when I wasn't there to."

"You don't have to thank me." I replied. "We all have to look out for each other."

Maggie pulled me into a hug, rubbing her wet hand up and down my back.

"Even so, I still appreciate what you did for her." Maggie said, her chin against my shoulder.

Maggie and I finished up the laundry so that we could hang it up to dry on the clothesline out back. We carried the damp clothes down in our arms. Carl held the back door open for us.

While Maggie and I were hanging up clothes, there was commotion out front. Maggie and I abandoned the clothes to go and see what was happening.

Daryl was standing in front of the house. At his feet was the crumpled form of a man. His wrists and ankles were bound in rope that looked eerily familiar. Rick was standing on the front porch with practically everyone else. He didn't look happy.

"I thought I made myself clear that I didn't want anybody going back there." Rick snapped.

"I thought it was more important to get information out of this son of a bitch." Daryl snapped back, using his foot to roll the man over onto his back.

I gasped. It was the man who had held me captive. It was the man who had raped Carol, and then put a bullet in her head.

"I thought we shot him." Glenn said, gaping at the man on the ground.

"You did." Daryl replied, pointing to a wound on the man's forearm with his foot.

"How could you bring him back here?" Hershel asked.

"What if you led the others he was with back to this house?" Dennis asked.

"There wasn't no others." Daryl replied bitingly. "You think I would've been stupid enough to bring the son of a bitch back with me if there were others there?"

"You were stupid enough to bring him here in the first place!" Dennis shouted.

The door suddenly opened. I looked over to see Beth coming out onto the front porch. Hershel tried to block her, but Beth saw the man on the ground. She burst into tears, throwing herself into her dad's arms. He held her up while Maggie left my side to help get Beth back in the house.

Daryl was staring down at the ground, his jaw clenched.

"Look what you did to Beth." Glenn said, pointing at the front door.

"Daryl, didn't you stop to consider our problem with Randall?" Rick asked.

"This ain't the same." Daryl scoffed. "Dale ain't here to fight for this asshole's life. Even if he was here, I don't think he'd want to spare his life after what he did to the girls."

I looked down at the man as he started to move a little. He groaned.

"Roslyn!" Daryl shouted.

"I have you." Dennis said, sounding suddenly closer to me than before.

I suddenly realized that I had fallen to my knees. Dennis was gently pulling me to my feet, keeping one of his large arms around my waist. I looked up from the man on the ground at Daryl. He was looking at me with concerned eyes, but looked away when our eyes met.

"Let's get you inside." Dennis said, pulling me to him. "You should have a glass of water."

I let Dennis lead me into the house.

"I'll be back in a minute." Dennis said, sitting me down on the couch.

I could hear Beth sobbing upstairs. I could hear the muffled voices of Rick, Glenn, and Daryl still talking out on the front porch.

"Drink this." Dennis said, reappearing with a glass of water.

"Thanks." I mumbled, taking the water from him.

Dennis sat next to me on the couch while I sipped the water.

"How are you feeling?" He asked after a minute or two.

"Fine I guess." I shrugged. "I don't know. I can't really…I can't really think about it right now."

"I understand." Dennis replied. "It's probably good that you don't think about it."

The front door opened. Dennis and I looked up as Glenn came into the house.

"They're going to bring him in." Glenn announced. "They're taking him into the basement."

I nodded.

"Daryl says he wants you to go upstairs while they bring him in."

"Now he cares about how bringing that piece of filth back here would make Roslyn feel?" Dennis asked with a snort.

"It's okay." I said, getting up off the couch. "I should go see if I can help with Beth."

"That might be a good idea." Glenn replied.

Without another word, I went upstairs to check in on Beth.

0o0o0

Later, after we had successfully calmed Beth down so that she could rest, we all went down to the living room. Lori was out back with Sophia keeping watch and folding laundry while T-Dog was keeping watch out on the front porch.

"I want to give Daryl an opportunity to defend bringing Travis back here." Rick said.

Daryl was standing in the corner of the room. I tried to look him in the eye, but he was avoiding my gaze.

"I thought we could get some information out of the son of a bitch." Daryl grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. "If he has a bunch of guys headin' back this way, I want to know about it."

"Rick said that he didn't want us going back to that motel." Dennis said. "Not only did you disobey our leader, but you didn't put a lot of thought into what that man's presence would do to Beth or Roslyn, or even Sophia. What if Sophia finds out about the man down in the basement?"

"I didn't have a phone on me to call home and get Daddy's permission." Daryl bit back.

"That's enough." Rick said, putting his hands out. "Daryl has a good point. If there is a group of…rapists and murderers living within forty miles of here, I want to know about it."

"The man in the basement is the one who raped and killed Carol." Dennis replied. "He's the man who was going to rape and probably kill Beth and Roslyn. He shouldn't be here."

"I don't want him and his group findin' our house and finishin' the job." Daryl snapped.

"How do you know that they would have found us here?"

"How do you know they wouldn't have?" Daryl retorted.

It was quiet then. Rick sighed.

"How do you want to handle this, Daryl?" Rick asked, turning to face him.

"I want to handle him myself." Daryl replied darkly. "I don't want anyone else goin' near him. I'm gonna question him once he's rested up some."

Daryl headed for the front door. Before he walked through it, he turned back around.

"You might want to get the kids and Beth out of the house when that happens."


	18. Six Months

_When You Say Nothing At All_

**Six Months**

**FanFicGirl10: **Hahaha. I know how you feel about Dennis. I hope Daryl's dream can come true too. We'll see if it does! You'll see how Roslyn's feels about Daryl bringing Travis back in this chapter. Here's your update!

**ScornedxRose: **Thank you! We'll see how long Daryl lets Travis live. Hahaha.

**BlackRose851: **Thank you!

**blueberrybunny3630: **Dennis and Daryl both did what they felt they had to, I guess. Daryl thought bringing Travis back for information was the right thing to do. Dennis didn't agree. I think they'll always disagree, but hopefully they can learn to get along.

**Leyshla Gisel: **You know it!

0o0o0

"Daryl."

I turned around. Rick was standin' behind me. He was just lookin' at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing." Rick said finally. "You do what you have to."

I gave him a nod before I shut the basement door. I locked it behind me. I didn't want any interference or distractions. It was just me and the piece of shit tied up at the bottom of the stairs. Hershel had cleaned and stitched up his bullet wound. I'd given him a couple hours to rest.

The asshole was tied around a pole in the basement. He was gagged. I made sure that his gag was extra tight so that it cut into the corners of his mouth. When he saw me comin', his eyes got all big. On the inside, I was grinnin' from ear to ear.

I set my crossbow down on the little desk against the wall. I made a show of pullin' out all the knives I had on me, and the handgun in my waistband. I turned around to see if the asshole was watchin' me. He looked like he was about to cry. The grin I was wearin' on the inside got bigger.

When my weapons were all out on the desk, I sat down in the little chair. I stretched my fingers, crackin' my knuckles one by one. The asshole started whimperin' with the gag in his mouth. I looked up at him as I cracked each knuckle. I heard a sound, and looked down. The asshole has pissed himself. I was laughin' on the inside.

I'd put on a show long enough. I got up out of the chair. The son of a bitch started cryin'. He was cryin' even more when I pulled the gag down out of his mouth.

"Carol." I said, ballin' up my fist.

I threw a punch, connectin' with the asshole's jaw. Bone on bone.

"Carol's the name of the woman you raped." I said, punchin' him again in the same place. "Carol's the name of the woman you killed."

The asshole was blubberin' like a baby. His mouth was hangin' open.

"She had a little girl." I said, usin' my other fist on the other side of his ugly face. "Her little girl's name is Sophia."

I hit him in the jaw again. His mouth hung open as he tried to cry through the pain.

"Sophia lost her good for nothin' daddy a while back." I balled up my right fist and aimed all of my power at his gut. His head hung down as he groaned. "Now, she ain't got a mama."

I hit him again in the gut, and then again. Each time, the asshole sputtered and groaned.

"Sophia ain't got a mama or a daddy, and it's your fault." I said, hittin' the asshole again.

I stepped back, lettin' the son of a bitch breathe for a minute. His head was hangin'.

"Beth is the name of the teenage girl you and your boys took." I said, wipin' my nose. "She hasn't been able to sleep through the night since she got back."

The asshole started to cry again since he had his breath back. I grabbed him by the hair, throwin' his head back against the pole. My other hand was around his throat. I got in the asshole's face as he cried and cried like a little girl.

"Roslyn is the name of the third girl you took." I growled.

"I-I-I-I…" The asshole blubbered.

"You made a big fuckin' mistake the second you decided to grab her." I snarled, shakin' the asshole by the throat. "I'd be pissin' myself too if I was you."

I let go of the son of a bitch, but only for a second. I connected a punch with his face.

"I heard you hit her." I said, hittin' the son of a bitch again.

I stepped away, but only so that I could lift my leg and kick the son of a bitch in the ribs. I heard the breath go out of him, but kicked him again. I kicked him as I hard as I could, and then I kept goin'. I kept goin' until I heard crackin' over the wailin'.

"I heard you kicked her when she tried to defend the other girls." I said, goin' to the desk.

I picked up a knife. The asshole started shriekin' when he saw me get it. I grabbed a fistful of his sweaty, bloody shirt. I cut the shirt off his body with the knife. Then, I cut his pants off. I left him in his boxers soaked in piss.

I grabbed the asshole by the back of the neck, pressin' my knife into his flesh.

"When I found her in the closet, she wasn't wearin' nothin' but her bra and underwear." I growled through my teeth, tryin' not to stab the son of a bitch. "You and your boys were plannin' to do to my girl what you did to Carol."

"N-N-N-N-"

"I've been tryin' to decide all day if I should cut off your fuckin' pecker," I slid my knife down to the asshole's wet boxers, "or if I should shove a rifle up your ass."

The son of a bitch started screamin'.

"Shut your goddamn mouth!" I shouted, slammin' the handle of my knife into the asshole's jaw.

When the son of a bitch was quiet, I stepped back.

"You're gonna tell me everything I want to know." I said. "You're gonna tell me everything, and you're gonna pray that I won't cut your dick off or rape you with a gun."

I put the knife back on the desk.

"I'm gonna let you think about it." I said, headin' for the stairs. "I'm gonna let you stand there in your underwear, scared, just like you left Beth and Roslyn in those closets."

I went up the stairs, unlockin' the door.

Rick was sittin' on the couch. He looked up from the floor when I opened the door.

"Well?" Rick asked, standin' up.

"He's thinkin' things over." I said. "Where is everybody?"

"Dennis and Hershel took Beth and Sophia out while…" Rick said. "T-Dog is on watch out back. Glenn and Maggie are out front."

"Roslyn?" I asked.

"Upstairs." Rick eyed the ceilin'. "Hershel and I told her to lay down. She was experiencing some pain in her torso."

I headed up the stairs. I wondered if Roslyn would be mad at me for bringin' the son of a bitch back to the house. Everybody else had lost their shit. Her dumb brother had gone off on me. The idiot had just started to get on my good side, but then he had to go off like a jackass. He didn't know what the hell he was talkin' about.

I went into the bedroom Hershel and Beth had been sharin'. Roslyn was layin' on the bed. When the door opened, she looked away from the ceilin'.

"How are you feelin'?" I asked, comin' into the room. "Rick said you were hurtin'."

"I'm okay." Roslyn said.

I sat down on the bed, inspectin' her wrapped torso. Hershel had changed the dressin'.

"You sure?" I asked, layin' my hand over her ribs.

"Yeah." Roslyn said. "They just ache a little. That's all. I'll be fine."

I didn't know what else to say. I didn't know how Roslyn felt about me or the son of a bitch in the basement or what her dumb brother had said.

"I didn't mean to upset you by bringin' _him_ back here." I said after a while.

"You didn't." Roslyn said, sittin' up. "Is that what you think?"

"I don't know." I said. "Your brother got all pissed, so did everybody else pretty much. I didn't know if you were mad at me or what."

"I'm not mad at you." Roslyn said, reachin' her hand out to me. "I was just surprised."

I wrapped my hand around hers.

"I wanted to tell you, but…" I looked up at her.

"You weren't out hunting, were you?" Roslyn asked. "At least…not for a meal."

I shook my head. The truth was, I had gone out that day with the purpose of findin' the dead or live body of the son of a bitch in the basement. Glenn and Maggie said they were sure they shot him. He had been hidin' out back of the motel. They hadn't seen him when he fired at them.

"I understand why you did it." Roslyn said, still holdin' my hand.

"Good." I said.

We sat together for a little while until we heard the others comin' back. Roslyn was feelin' better by then. We went downstairs together.

"What are you doing?" Dennis asked, lookin' at Roslyn. "You should be resting, and you definitely shouldn't be spending your time with him right now."

"Back off, Dennis." Roslyn said. "Daryl did what he had to protect us."

"He didn't have to bring that piece of trash back here." Dennis said. "If he was going to, he could have at least given everybody a heads up."

"What's done is done." Roslyn said. "Get over it."

"That's enough, you two." Lori said. "The last thing we need right now is to have the two of you carrying on an argument."

Dennis took Sophia into the back of the house. Hershel and Beth went upstairs, passin' me on their way.

"I'm going to help Lori with dinner." Roslyn said. "Are you going back down there?"

"No." I shook my head. "Not with everyone back in the house."

I watched Roslyn head for the kitchen, my eyes landin' on the basement door. The son of a bitch could stay down there in his piss stained boxers for the rest of the night, waitin' and wonderin' what was gonna happen to him. I'd take care of gettin' answers out of him in the mornin'.

0o0o0

I was takin' watch out back when I heard the commotion out front. I slung my crossbow forward as I ran for the front of the house. There were flashlights pointin' in the same spot. Beth was holdin' a rifle to the back of the asshole's head. He was on his knees, facin' the house. He was cryin'. So was Beth.

"Beth, listen to me." Hershel was sayin'. "Beth, you don't want to do this."

Beth didn't say nothin'. She was just cryin' and shakin' like a leaf in the light.

"Sweetheart, come on." Maggie said, steppin' down from the porch.

I looked up at the porch. Hershel and Glenn were standin' next to each other on the steps. Roslyn was right behind them with her brother. Rick was standin' off to the side.

"Beth, put down the gun." Maggie said, walkin' closer to Beth and the son of a bitch.

Suddenly, without warnin', Beth just pulled the trigger. All at once, a bunch of things happened. Someone screamed inside the house. Dennis ran inside. Maggie ran towards Beth, who had fallen to the ground with the rifle. Hershel and Glenn made their way to them.

"Goddamnit." I muttered.

"Everyone needs to pack up their things." Rick said, his voice louder than the other sounds around us. "Everyone needs to get their things together now."

"What are you talking about?" Glenn asked. "We have-"

"That gunshot is bound to draw walkers." Rick said. "We have to leave. We can't stay here."

"My daughter is more important right now." Hershel said, turnin' around.

"Our lives are more important!" Rick shouted. "We need to grab as much of our supplies as we can before this place is crawling with walkers!"

I knew Rick was right. I ignored the fightin' and cryin'. I headed up onto the porch, grabbin' Roslyn's arm without stoppin'. I pulled her into the house and into the dinin' room where we had been sleepin'.

"Grab what's important." I told her. "When you've got what you need, start grabbin' up food. Bring only what's not gonna spoil right away. Leave everything else behind."

"Where are you going?" Roslyn asked.

"I'm gonna make sure everyone else is doin' the same." I said, takin' a moment to touch Roslyn's face when I saw her worried look. "It's okay. It's gonna be all right."

Roslyn nodded.

"I'll be back to check on you once I've made sure everyone else isn't dickin' around."

I headed up the stairs. Lori and Dennis were fallin' all over Sophia.

"Get your shit." I said. "We gotta go."

"What?" Dennis asked. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"We're leavin'!" I shouted. "What part of that don't you understand?!"

I headed down the hall before Roslyn's dumb brother could ask anymore dumb questions. T-Dog was already packin' shit up. It made my job a hell of a lot easier.

When I went back downstairs, everybody was gettin' with the program. I started takin' shit outside to pack up in either the van or SUV. Beth was strapped into the car with Maggie. She was cryin'. I wanted to open the car door and shake her for bein' so stupid, but I just packed up our stuff.

I remembered all of my knives and my handgun were still in the basement. I went back into the house to get them.

I was gettin' my stuff when I heard gunshots.

"Fuck!" I shouted, headin' up the stairs as I got my crossbow ready.

When I got up to the first floor, I saw Rick and Carl side by side on the couch. They were pointin' their guns out the windows, which were shattered. They were firin' at whoever was firin' into the house.

I slinked along the floor, lookin' into the dinin' room. Roslyn wasn't there, but Lori and Sophia were huddled under the table together.

I made my way to the couch where Rick and Carl were.

"How many?" I asked, lookin' over at T-Dog and Dennis, who were firin' out the other window.

"At least ten." Rick said.

"They're using the trench as their defense." Carl said.

"Fuckin' perfect." I grumbled.

"Maggie and Beth are still in the car." Rick said. "Hershel is out there. So is Roslyn."

"Cover me." I said, headin' for the door.

"Daryl." Dennis held out his shotgun to me. "Take this with you."

"Hang onto your gramps' crossbow." I said, shovin' it into his arms.

I quickly got out onto the front porch, and the firin' started up again from the trench. Hershel was ducked behind the railin' on my side. Roslyn was on the other side.

"You all right?!" I called out to her over the gunfire.

Roslyn nodded, showin' me her pistol. She held up seven fingers. She had seven bullets left.

"You stay there!" I shouted, then turned to Hershel. "You stay here too. Cover me."

I crouched down and started for the car. I could feel bullets comin' from both directions as I ducked behind the car. Luckily for us, the sons of bitches hadn't hit it.

"Get out of there." I said, openin' the car door.

Beth threw herself out of the car. Maggie came next. We all huddled behind the car.

"Make a run for the house." I told them. "I'll cover you. Your daddy and the others are coverin' us too. You'll make it."

"Come on, Beth." Maggie said, grabbin' her sister's arm.

I stood up, firin' the shotgun off from behind the car. I hit one of the sons of bitches when he raised his head to look over the trench. I looked to see that the girls had made it up onto the porch. They were duckin' behind the railin' with their daddy.

"Stop fuckin' shootin' at us!" I shouted to the sons of bitches in the trench.

Suddenly, the gunfire stopped.

"That's our man there on the ground!" A voice shouted back. "You fuckin' assholes killed him!"

"He killed one of ours first!" I shouted back. "That son of a bitch took three of ours!"

"That's your woman rotting back at the motel?!"

"She was one of ours!" I shouted, lookin' around the side of the car. "Two of your men raped her and then shot her in the head! Call it payback!"

The firin' started up again.

"Assholes!" I shouted over the bullets flyin'.

I kept my position, firin' off rounds when I got a chance. It went that way for a long time, but then, there were more sounds. I thought I'd never be happy to see walkers, but I was when I saw them breakin' through the trees.

"Walkers!" I shouted, headin' up to the house. "We gotta move! We gotta move now!"

While the men in the trench turned their fire on the walkers, the rest of us got out of the house and headed for the cars. I pulled Roslyn towards my bike. We were ready to go before the others. I rode up to the van. Rick was sittin' in the front seat.

"Where to?" I asked.

"Let's meet up at the run down house in the trees." Rick said.

"All right."

I didn't need to know nothin' else. I flew down the dirt path towards the trees while the men in the trench screamed for help they wouldn't get from us.

0o0o0

When we got to the run down house, we all stood around outside.

"We can't stay in one place anymore." Rick said first thing, pacin' back and forth. "We're too easy to track down if we stay in the same place for more than a night or two."

"We can't just keep moving." Lori said. "What about…?"

"I know." Rick snapped. "Don't you think I know that?"

Nobody said anything. I put my arm around Roslyn. She leaned into me.

"When we settle down, it has to be some place with walls." Rick said. "It has to be some place with defenses to protect us from anyone who figures out that we're there. One fence isn't going to cut it. A trench isn't going to cut it."

"Winter is coming." Hershel said.

"Which means we have to look harder for places to stay." Rick said. "We'll stay here for the night. Tomorrow, we have to move."

Everyone went inside. We found our places from before. Nobody talked.

We had all grabbed some of our things, but we were missin' a lot. We only packed up about half our food supply. That meant our rations would be even smaller than before.

I looked over at Roslyn. She was layin' out our sleepin' bags.

"What?" Roslyn asked, noticin' my stare.

"Nothin'." I told her, reachin' out to rub her back. "Everything is goin' to be all right."

Roslyn looked me in the eyes. Even though I didn't know what was gonna happen, I wanted to make her feel better. I tried to make my eyes look soft. After a while, she smiled.

0o0o0

"All clear." I said out the front door.

I held the door open while everyone shuffled up, carryin' what they could from the cars parked way down the road. They all looked different. Even Roslyn looked different. I could see the bones movin' under her skin. When I saw her naked, I could count her ribs more easily than I could before.

Six months had passed since we were run out of the farmhouse. We had managed to survive the winter. Some nights we were lucky. We had a roof over our heads. Other nights we hadn't been so lucky. We'd ended up in tents out in the woods. When that happened, I would wrap Roslyn up in my arms all through the night while she shivered against me.

Over the winter, we had a few close calls. Carl and Sophia both got real sick. They were shittin' and throwin' up for days and days. We all thought they were gonna die. They ended up pullin' through when a few of us went on an emergency pharmacy run. It had been a two day trip there and back, but we got some medicine for the kids. They pulled through.

Lori was gettin' bigger every day. She always looked like she was gonna pop.

When we were all in the house, a few of us searched for any food. We had run out of food a few weeks back. We had been livin' off what I could catch and what little we found in houses we slept in. It was takin' a toll on everyone.

Roslyn slid down the wall, fallin' heavy on the floor. She slumped into her knees. When I saw her lookin' so weak, I abandoned my search to go to her. I got down on the floor, holdin' her up against the wall.

"Just hang on, girl." I said, holdin' her shoulders to the wall. "We'll find somethin' for you to put in that belly."

Roslyn nodded for a second, but it seemed to make her dizzy.

Carl came back into the room. He was carryin' two cans and a can opener. I noticed as he started to open the first can that they were cans of dog food. I was past feelin' disgusted by it. If puttin' dog food in Roslyn's stomach meant her livin' another day, I would force feed both cans to her myself.

Suddenly, Rick threw both cans against the wall. He didn't seem to share my feelings.

"Daryl." Rick said, motionin' to the door. "Let's go."

I knew he wanted to hunt. I decided to go out with him, but if we didn't bring anything back, I was feedin' that dog food to Roslyn. Somethin' told me she wouldn't fight me on it.

"I'll be back soon." I told her, sweepin' hair out of her face. "I'll bring you back some meat. You'll have a nice meal tonight. I promise."

Dennis came over. He helped Roslyn to her feet.

"I'll keep an eye on her." Dennis told me, lockin' his arm around Roslyn's tiny waist.

"All right." I said.

I looked around the room. Lori, Beth, and Sophia looked like they were in the same shape as Roslyn. Glenn even looked pretty weak. He was leanin' on Maggie. T-Dog was sittin' against a wall in the corner. Hershel was tryin' to comfort Beth.

"Let's go." I said to Rick, headin' out the door.


	19. Hunger Pains

_When You Say Nothing At All_

**Hunger Pains**

**ScornedxRose: **Ugh. I know. I hate the Governor. He's such a dick. Here's your update!

**BlackRose851: **Thank you!

**FanFicGirl10: **Yes, we are now entering Season 3. Here's your update!

**Leyshla Gisel: **Hell yeah it did! I can't even imagine what it was like for them. Prison time, baby!

0o0o0

Rick and Daryl didn't come back with meat, but they did come back with good news. They told us that they had found a place for us to live. Permanently. I was already as excited as my body would allow.

"Don't get too excited, girl." Daryl told me, holding onto my arms as though I would fall over dead at any minute. "You ain't got the strength for all that now."

"Don't ruin this." I replied with a smile.

Daryl suddenly looked down at my hand. His brow wrinkled as he ran his thumb over the mood ring on my hand. It was no longer on my ring finger. It was around my thumb.

"I had to move it." I explained quietly. "It kept slipping off my other finger."

I felt self-conscious suddenly. I tried to avoid mirrors when we were in houses. I knew I looked frightful. I knew because the others looked scary too. Beth looked especially frail. Even Lori, who was due to give birth any day, looked malnourished.

"Hey," Daryl lifted my chin to look into my eyes, "we'll get some food in you soon. I'm gonna fatten you up, girl."

"I don't know about that." I said, giving him a smile.

"I like a girl with meat on her bones." Daryl replied, giving me a smile back.

Daryl and I went out to the bike. I wrapped my arms around his waist. It seemed so much easier to get my arms around him, not that it had been difficult before. Daryl had always been on the scrawnier side, not including the power in his arms. Now, he was much thinner.

As we rode to our new home, the pain in my stomach intensified with the rumbling of the bike. It was rare to experience a moment without hunger pains, but they were worse when I moved a lot or too fast. Riding on a motorcycle was worsening the pain in my gut. I clenched my jaw and squeeze my eyes shut, trying to block out the feeling that someone was wringing my stomach in their bare hands.

"Roslyn!" I heard Daryl shout over the roaring of the bike.

I realized that my arms had been slipping from Daryl's waist. He had one hand over mine, keeping me from falling. I tightened my grip as best as I could, but Daryl kept one hand over mine for the rest of our journey. He kept glancing back at me, a worried look in his eyes. He had been giving me that look more and more as our food supply dwindled and finally disappeared.

When we finally reached our new home, I was surprised to see a heavily gated prison. There were walkers in uniforms wandering around within the fences.

"I want you to stay back." Daryl told me as he parked the bike.

"Okay."

"I mean it." Daryl pointed at me. "I know you been helpin' us clear houses, and that you been real handy with that rifle, but you ain't in no shape to be helpin' us this time."

I nodded. I knew Daryl was right.

Rick, Daryl, Dennis, Glenn, and Maggie took their weapons to clear out the prison courtyard. Rick said we would clear the rest of the prison out in the morning. While they killed the walkers within the courtyard, the rest of us took care of walkers wandering around outside of the gates. Carl, who had become quite the sharpshooter, did most of the work.

When the courtyard was clear, we brought the vehicles in and closed the gate.

Not long after we closed ourselves off in the courtyard, Beth fainted. Daryl reacted immediately.

"I'm goin' huntin'." He said, heading for the gate.

"Daryl, we'll be able to get into the prison tomorrow." Rick said. "We just have to wait one more-"

"Beth might not have one more night." Daryl interrupted, turning around to face our group. "Roslyn might not have one more night. Hell, _Glenn_ might not have one more night."

Rick didn't say anything.

"I'm gonna go find us some meat." Daryl said, gripping his crossbow.

Daryl cast one last look in my direction before he was heading back out the way we had come. I watched him disappear into the trees.

"How are you feeling?" Dennis asked me, sitting down next to me on the ground.

"I'm just hungry." I replied, looking over at him. "That's nothing new. I've been hungry for a long time. We all have."

"I know." Dennis sighed. "If Daryl has anything to say about it, we'll have a meal tonight."

"Yeah."

While Daryl was gone, the rest of us set up our tents for the night. Rick did a lot of patrolling. He had become more and more removed from the rest of us. The Grimes family barely spoke to one another, or even sat near each other. Carl shared a tent with T-Dog, while Lori shared one with Sophia. Rick barely slept, and when he did, he just slept in one of the vehicles.

By sunset, Daryl had returned. He brought back a few squirrels, which he had already skinned. He wasted no time in cooking them over the fire Hershel had built. We all huddled around the flames, waiting for a bite of meat. My mouth was watering for just one swallow.

Everyone was given a small portion, but it was better than nothing. I wolfed down the chunks of meat Daryl had given to me. Had I been stronger, I would have refused when he gave me his portion. Instead, I took his meat gratefully.

"Feel better?" Daryl asked, putting an arm around my shoulders.

"Yes." I replied softly, licking my fingers clean. "Thank you."

"We should try to get some sleep." Daryl said, already getting to his feet. "I have watch in a few hours, and you need to keep up your strength."

I let Daryl help me up. We went into our tent.

I shimmied my jeans off, kicking them into the corner of the tent. I pulled off my shirt, and was about to toss it to the side when I caught Daryl staring at me. Ordinarily, I would have thought he was staring at me for an entirely different reason, but I knew why he was looking at me. I looked down at myself, at my visible ribs and my protruding collarbone.

"Please don't look at me like that." I said quietly, quickly pulling my sleep shirt on over my head.

Daryl kneeled down beside me.

"You're still beautiful, Roslyn." Daryl murmured, touching my sunken in cheeks. "I'm just…sorry that I couldn't keep you well fed over the past few months."

"It wasn't your responsibility." I replied, looking up at him.

"_You_ are my responsibility." Daryl said, holding my face in his hands. "You're my girl. I'm supposed to look out for you, protect you. That means providin' you with whatever you need, and you definitely need food in you."

"Maybe that prison is full of food." I replied, trying to ease Daryl's mind.

"Maybe." Daryl muttered, then he changed his face and his tone. "Probably. Definitely."

"You don't have to do that." I said, lifting a hand to Daryl's face. "I'm not scared."

Daryl suddenly pulled me down to lay with him on our sleeping bags. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close to him. It made me think of those winter nights I spent shivering in his arms.

"You don't have to be scared anyways." Daryl whispered, stroking my hair back. "I'm here. Nothin' is gonna happen to you while I'm here."

"I know." I replied, closing my eyes as I got comfortable.

I drifted off to sleep as Daryl continued running his hand along my hair.

0o0o0

The next day was the biggest one we'd had in a long time. The same crew from the day before took out the rest of the walkers, allowing us inside of the prison. They cleared out one of the cell blocks for us. There was something about the presence of bars that made me feel safer.

Once we were settled with our things in the cell block, Rick gathered a group to scout out the rest of the prison. He, Daryl, Dennis, Glenn, Maggie, Hershel, and T-Dog geared up for the mission, not knowing what would await them outside of our cell block.

"You keep this close." Daryl told me, handing me a rifle. "You got your other piece."

"Of course." I replied, showing him the pistol at my hip.

"All right." Daryl nodded. "Don't leave the cell block. You stay here. Take care of the others."

"I will." I promised. "Be careful."

"I will." Daryl said, pressing a kiss to my forehead. "I'll be back before you know it. I'll bring back somethin' for you to eat."

I watched the scouting group go. Carl locked the gate after they had gone.

"What should we do?" Beth asked, looking from Lori to me to Carl. "What should we do while they're all gone?"

"You should rest, Beth." I told her. "You fainted yesterday. You're tired and weak."

"I want to help-"

"The best thing you could do for us is rest." Lori interrupted Beth, putting her hand on Beth's shoulder. "If we know you're taking a nap in one of the bunks, we won't have to worry about you. That would be a load of our minds."

Beth looked unsure.

"Will you please rest?" Lori asked gently. "For me?"

"Okay." Beth agreed quietly.

Beth disappeared into one of the cells.

"Sophia, do you want to come and sit with me?" Carl asked. "I was going to keep watch, wait for the others to come back."

"Sure." Sophia replied, heading to the locked gate with Carl.

"Lori, you should rest too." I said, turning towards her. "It's been a long day. You shouldn't be on your feet."

"Sit with me?" Lori asked, motioning to the cell she stood in front of.

I nodded, following her into the cell. We didn't talk much, but then again, Lori had become almost as reclusive as her husband. The only people she really talked to were Dennis and Sophia, and she only spoke to Dennis because he helped look out for Sophia.

"I was just telling Hershel something before they left." Lori told me as she sat down on the bunk. "I was wondering if I could confide in you too?"

"What is it, Lori?" I asked, leaning against the wall.

"I have a feeling…I have a feeling that I lost this baby." Lori whispered, running a hand along her swollen belly. "I haven't felt it move in days."

"That doesn't mean you lost the baby." I reassured Lori, kneeling down in front of her.

"In any case…I probably won't survive the delivery." Lori said, looking away from me.

"Why would you say that?" I asked.

"I didn't deliver Carl vaginally." Lori replied, tears thick in her voice. "I had a C-section."

"Lori," I set my hands on her knees, "we have Hershel. I'm sure he knows how to perform a C-section if it came down to that."

"Roslyn," Lori looked down at me as she began to cry, "how could I survive an operation like that in a place like this? How?"

I bit my lip.

"The way I see it…either this baby is making it out alive, or neither of us are." Lori said, looking out into the cell block again as tears streamed down her face.

"You can't think like that." I told her.

When Lori remained silent, I gently laid a hand over her belly. She looked down at me, but didn't say a word.

"You have to stay positive, Lori." I murmured. "All of us have survived this long, and the odds definitely haven't been in our favor."

Suddenly, I felt something under my hand. At the same time, Lori gasped. Our eyes met. Lori smiled, but her tears continued.

"Was that…?"

"Yeah." Lori nodded, covering my hand.

"See?" I returned Lori's smile, pressing my hand firmly into her belly. "I told you to stay positive."

I stayed with Lori until we heard commotion coming from outside of the cell. Lori and I both went out into the block to investigate. The group had returned, but something was wrong. At the back of the pack were Rick and Daryl. Between them was Hershel. As my eyes lowered, I saw that one of Hershel's legs had been torn off below the knee.

"What happened?" Lori asked as they rushed Hershel into a cell.

Rick and Daryl deposited Hershel onto the bottom bunk before heading back out towards the set of bars blocking our cell block from the rest of the prison. There were five prisoners standing there.

"I thought I told you to stay away from us." Rick said, aiming his pistol at the prisoners.

"Go back the way you came." Daryl growled, his crossbow pointed at them.

I heard crying from behind me, and turned to see Glenn holding Beth back as Lori and Maggie worked quickly to save Hershel from bleeding to death.

"Roslyn!" Lori called out to me. "We need your help!"

I immediately went to the cell, trying not to think about the confrontation happening out in the block. I focused only on saving Hershel's life as he lay bleeding on the bottom bunk.

0o0o0

It had indeed been the longest day we'd had in a very long time. It was hard to judge whether or not it had all been worth it as I helped Maggie make dinner with our half of the food supply. My mind and my stomach said yes. My heart said no.

We made a meal of spaghetti and green beans. Maggie and I made dinner outside where we had a fire to boil water and heat up the jarred pasta sauce and cans of green beans. When dinner was ready, we carried the full pots in to serve everyone.

I sat with Daryl.

"I told you I'd bring food back, girl." He told me with a smile, but his eyes looked much different than his relaxed expression.

"What is it?" I asked, trying not to dive face first into my plate of food.

Daryl shook his head. He twirled his fork in the pile of spaghetti on his plate.

"Nothin'." He mumbled.

"Daryl, I'm not going to eat until you tell me what's on your mind." I said.

"That's dirty." Daryl muttered, glaring up at me.

I shrugged my shoulders.

"Eat your damn food." Daryl said.

I waited until he started talking before I began eating.

"I was just thinkin'…about what happened today." Daryl murmured. "We thought we found this safe place…and on our first day…Hershel almost got killed and come to find out…there's a bunch of prisoners hidin' out in the cafeteria."

"Any of us could be hurt or even killed at any point no matter where we are." I said, putting down my fork while I spoke. "As for the inmates, you guys took care of that problem. Everything is okay."

Daryl nodded.

"Now, eat your dinner." I smiled. "I like a guy with meat on his bones."

Daryl chuckled, but the look in his eyes remained. He was still worried.

Though I was starving, I couldn't help but feel my appetite slip away thinking about the worry in Daryl's eyes. When Daryl was worried, it was time for everyone else to worry.

When I noticed Daryl watching me, I shoveled food into my mouth. I could feel my stomach churning, wanting to reject the spaghetti, but I kept eating anyways. I didn't want Daryl to worry any more than he already was worrying. He seemed satisfied when he saw me eating.

"You want more?" Daryl asked when I managed to finish my plate.

"No." I shook my head violently. "No. I really don't. If I eat anymore, I'm going to puke."

"Puke?" Daryl raised an eyebrow. "Why? You feelin' sick?"

"No." I replied. "It's not good to eat a lot after you've been without for so long. It can make you even sicker than you were before."

Daryl nodded.

When we were ready to sleep, I started towards one of the empty cells. Daryl's hand stopped me.

"What?" I asked.

"We ain't sleepin' in a cell." He replied, eyeing the perch. "We're sleepin' up there."

"Okay." I shrugged.

We took our sleeping bags up to the perch. We made a bed for ourselves. It was comfy. I was glad Daryl had the idea of sleeping in the perch instead of in a cell. We wouldn't have been able to sleep in the same bunk. That would have been strange, not sleeping in the same space as Daryl.

Daryl fell asleep before me. He snored pretty heavily. I knew he'd had a long day.

I thought about the events of the day, and about Daryl's concern. Those thoughts kept me awake. Eventually, those thoughts began to turn my stomach. I knew I was going to be sick.

Quickly, but quietly, I escaped from the perch to the bathroom. I barely got the seat up before I was emptying my stomach into the toilet. I pulled my hair back as I threw up all of the food I had just eaten.

"Roslyn?"

I lifted my head up just to see who had followed me. It was T-Dog. Before I could say anything, I buried my head into the toilet again.

Suddenly, I felt T-Dog holding my hair back. I took my hand away to let him do it. A moment later, I felt T-Dog's other hand on my back.

"It's all right." He said. "Get it all out. That's the only way you'll feel better."

After a while, I was just doing a lot of gagging. I felt well enough to lean away from the toilet.

"You feel better?" T-Dog asked, letting go of my hair.

"Yeah." I nodded slowly. "Thank you."

"You aren't pregnant, are you?" T-Dog asked, looking as though he might be kidding, but might be serious too.

"No." I shook my head as I wiped my mouth off. "That's not a possibility."

"Right." T-Dog nodded. "Let me help you up."

I flushed the toilet after T-Dog helped me to my feet. I went to the sink to rinse my mouth out and splash some water on my face.

"What's going on?" T-Dog asked, leaning against the wall. "Are you sick?"

"I don't think so." I replied, running a wet hand through my hair. "I…know so."

"What's going on with you?"

I sighed as I turned around. I leaned against the sink.

"I don't know." I told him. "I can't shake the feeling that something terrible is going to happen."

"What do you mean?" T-Dog asked. "Worse than all the things that have already happened?"

"I don't know." I shrugged. "It's just a feeling…a bad feeling."

"We have enough to deal with right now." T-Dog replied, walking towards me. "You don't have to make things harder on yourself than they already are. You have to take it one day at a time."

I nodded.

"You're right."

"I know I am." T-Dog grinned.

"Yeah." I smiled back.

"Come on," T-Dog offered me his arm, "I'll walk you back to the block. Dixon will be out here with his crossbow if he wakes up without you there."

I laughed as I linked my arm with his.

0o0o0

Things were a lot easier the next day. I was beginning to think that T-Dog was right about me worrying over nothing. That was, until the day _really_ started.

"What the hell are you doin' here?!" Daryl shouted suddenly, getting everyone's attention.

I looked up to see the two live inmates standing on the other side of the bars. Daryl was already heading for the bars with Rick hot on his heels. Glenn, Maggie, and T-Dog wandered over in that direction.

"What are they doing here?" Dennis murmured from beside Sophia. "We cleared out that other cell block just for them, and they have half of the food supply."

"Maybe they want to join up with us." I replied.

"Well, they can't." Dennis scoffed, pushing the powdered eggs around on his plate. "Who knows what they were in for, and even if we asked, I'm sure they would lie."

"Is that your experience?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Actually, yes." Dennis answered, looking up at me. "I don't feel comfortable allowing prisoners into our group. We have two kids to think about and a baby on the way."

I watched the exchange taking place. Everyone appeared to be arguing. After a while, T-Dog walked away from the group. As he passed me, muttering under his breath, I followed him out to the courtyard.

"T!" I called after him, jogging to catch up.

T-Dog turned around, but didn't say anything.

"What's wrong?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips.

"Those two guys, Axel and Oscar, they want to join our group." T-Dog replied. "They said they can't share a cell block with the bodies of their friends. They're scared."

"I don't understand."

"Rick told them they're on their own." T-Dog said, looking down at his feet. "The others agreed with him."

"But you don't?" I asked.

"When their buddies turned on us yesterday, those guys didn't help them out." T-Dog met my eyes. "They seem all right to me. I don't know. I just…I just want to be a good guy. You know?"

I nodded, setting a hand on T-Dog's shoulder.

"I know what you mean." I replied softly. "You have a good heart. You want to help others. I've always liked that about you, T."

T-Dog gave me a faint smile, but I could tell he was still troubled.

We stayed together outside, and eventually, some of the others filtered out into the yard. The sun was shining. It was one of the nicer days we'd had in a while.

Suddenly, Hershel emerged from the prison. He was accompanied by Beth and Lori. I felt tears spring to my eyes watching Hershel hobble out into the courtyard. He had been through so much with being bitten, having Rick amputate his leg, and nearly dying. Seeing him refusing to give up warmed my heart. It gave me the hope that I needed so desperately.

Just as quickly as my spirits lifted, they plummeted again when the sounds of groaning and shuffling reached my ears. There were walkers flowing into the courtyard. They had gotten out, and they were coming for our group.

T-Dog grabbed my wrist, pulling me as he ran from the walkers. My feet thundered against the ground as I ran to keep up with T-Dog. We both nearly ran into the fence as we came to a dead end. We turned, our backs against the fence as walkers staggered away from the herd to come for us.

"T…" I breathed, clutching his wrist.

"Roslyn, I-"

Before I could register what had happened, T-Dog was screaming in pain. I realized that a walker on the other side of the fence had wandered over. It had bitten T-Dog through the fence. Its teeth were sunken into T-Dog's shoulder, blood seeping from the wound.

"No!" I screamed, pulling T-Dog from the fence.

T-Dog collapsed to the ground, but I wouldn't let him stay there. I got down on my knees, trying to get him up while I kept my eyes on the walkers drawing closer to us. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a rusted door leading into a section of the prison that hadn't been cleared out.

"Come on, T!" I screeched, pulling on him. "Come on! We have to move!"

T-Dog scrambled to his feet. I pulled him to the door, shoving him in first before I joined him. I shut the door behind us.

"Let's go." I said, grabbing T-Dog's hand.

It was my turn to pull him like he had pulled me along before. I managed to drag him down the hall. We came out into a long corridor.

"Which way should we go?" I asked quietly, looking back at T-Dog.

As if on cue, the terrible sound of moaning began echoing off the walls. There were walkers headed our way. They were coming from the east.

"Roslyn," T-Dog shook loose from my grip, "go."

"What?" I asked, looking up at him as he tried to move around me. "What are you talking about?"

"Roslyn…I'm done." T-Dog said, shrugging his injured shoulder. "They got me."

"No." I snapped, glaring up at T-Dog. "You aren't done. They cut off Hershel's fucking leg! I'll take your arm off with a goddamn butter knife if I have to!"

"You can't." T-Dog replied, somehow calm under the circumstances.

"I can." I argued. "I can and I will."

"I'm going out there." T-Dog told me. "They'll only stay occupied until…you won't have much time. You have to go. You have to get out of here."

"T…" I whimpered, looking up at him.

"I know." T-Dog murmured, pulling me into a hug.

I began to cry as he hugged me. I locked my arms around him, not wanting to let him go.

"Please…don't do this, T." I choked on my tears as I begged him.

"There's no saving me, Roslyn." T-Dog whispered in my ear. "If I can distract them long enough for you to get away, that's what I'm going to do."

T-Dog let go of me. He practically pried me off of him.

"Go." He said, and then, he was running down the corridor towards the walkers.

"T!" I screamed after him.

The walkers fell on T-Dog as he threw himself into their group. They began ripping and tearing at his flesh. T-Dog cried out as they tore him apart right in front of me.

With tears blurring my vision, I turned, and ran down the opposite side of the corridor.


	20. Baby Mine

_When You Say Nothing At All_

**Baby Mine**

**ScornedxRose: **I know! I loved T-Dog! He never caused any drama. I miss him. You'll see what happens with Roslyn right up front in this chapter. Here's your update!

**FanFicGirl10: **Ugh. I know! You're right about them all being too skinny. They need to eat at a buffet until they all get sick. Haha. You'll find out just below what happens to Roslyn. Here's your update!

**VealMaster: **Wow. Thank you so much! I'm glad that I've kept Daryl in character in your eyes, but I'm even happier that you like Roslyn! I try to create characters that are realistic, flawed, but likeable. T-Dog was a great character. The only reason he didn't get more screen time is because he didn't cause drama. To me, that's a great quality! Haha. I miss him. Thank you so much for your review. Here's your update!

**Goldenfightergirl: **The token black guys never last long, huh?

**BlackRose851: **Thank you!

**Leyshla Gisel: **I'm sorry! I had no idea. From now on, I'll post whose POV it is.

**Mrs Sorbo: **Thank you. I like the idea of Daryl only being sweet to the girl he loves.

**Emmieroo: **Hahaha. I didn't even realize! I'm glad you're enjoying Daryl's sweetness. I'm also glad that my writing has an effect on your feelings.

0o0o0

**Daryl's POV**

When the gun went off, I thought for sure Oscar had shot Rick. I was surprised when the goddamn inmate responsible for the walkers gettin' in fell to the floor, dead. Oscar handed Rick's pistol over without hesitation. It made me think maybe we'd made the wrong decision before.

"Come on." Rick said. "We gotta check on the others."

There'd been so much goin' on that I hadn't had the time to think of anything else. Now, all I could think of was Roslyn. I'd seen T-Dog draggin' her off, away from the walkers. I'd put down as many as I could, knowin' Roslyn would be safe with T-Dog. They were close. He wouldn't let anything happen to her. It didn't keep from worryin' though.

"You heard Rick." I said, openin' the door. "Let's go."

I started out of the generator room. I had to get back to the courtyard. I needed to see with my own eyes that Roslyn was all right. Until then, I would just be worryin' about her. It was already drivin' me crazy.

As I came around a corner, I almost tripped over somethin' on the floor. When I looked down, my blood froze in my veins. It was T-Dog, or what was left of him. He'd been mauled by walkers. There were pieces of him all over the damn place.

"Roslyn!" I called out, my voice echoin' off the walls. "Roslyn!"

"Daryl!" Rick shouted, catchin' up to me. "Oh god…"

"Roslyn!" I shouted, runnin' down the hall. "Goddamnit, Roslyn! Answer me!"

I stopped at the end of the hall, lookin' around the corner. There was a door leadin' out.

"Daryl!" Rick called after me.

I ignored him, headin' out into the courtyard. I kept my crossbow up as I made my way to the main part of the yard. Hershel was leanin' on Beth, who had one arm around Sophia. Dennis was standin' with his back to me. I saw arms around him.

"Roslyn?"

Suddenly, Dennis turned so that I could see who he was huggin'. It was Roslyn.

"Goddamnit, Roslyn!" I shouted, slingin' my crossbow back as I jogged up to her. "I was…"

Roslyn was sobbin' harder than I had ever seen her before. She was barely standin' on her own. I realized she must've been pretty upset over T-Dog, and decided my feelings could wait. I held out my arms to her. Roslyn fell into my embrace, cryin' into my shoulder.

"I know, girl." I said as soft as I could. "I know."

I held the back of Roslyn's head as she cried against me. I looked up at Dennis, who was watchin' us with a sad look on his face. He had a wet spot on his shirt from where Roslyn had cried on him. He gave me a look. I threw it back at him.

Suddenly, there was a sound behind us. Without movin' her out of my arms, I turned Roslyn and I around to see what was goin' on. Maggie and Carl were comin' out of the prison. Maggie was holdin' a bundle in her arms. I recognized the sound as a baby cryin'. It was Lori's baby.

I searched for Lori, but I didn't see her. She wasn't comin' out with them.

"No…" I said, realizin' that Lori was dead.

A few moments later, Rick got it too. He burst into tears, throwin' himself on the ground. Carl stood by, cryin' too. Slowly, everyone around me started showin' their emotions. I just held onto Roslyn tighter, feelin' her weaken in my arms. She was still underweight. The excitement of the day and losin' T-Dog was obviously takin' its toll.

"Glenn." I said over Roslyn's tears.

Glenn looked over at me, silent tears fallin' down his cheeks.

"Take Roslyn." I said, waitin' for him to come over before I let go of her. "Take everyone inside. I'll stay out here with Rick."

Glenn made his way over. I let go of Roslyn, gently pushin' her into Glenn's embrace.

"T…" Roslyn cried.

I knew Glenn would understand her pain. He had been close with T-Dog too.

Dennis gathered up Sophia, while Beth helped Hershel inside. Maggie, still holdin' the baby, put her arm around Carl to guide him inside.

"Us…too?" Axel asked all quietly.

"Yeah." I nodded. "You guys too."

Axel and Oscar headed inside after the others.

Rick was still layin' on his back on the ground. He wasn't makin' any noise anymore. He was just starin' up at the sky.

"Rick." I said, walkin' over to him. "Rick, you gotta get up, man."

I held out my hand to him, but he didn't move.

"Come on, Rick." I said. "Let's get you inside."

He still didn't move. He just stared up at the sky.

I sighed. I crouched down on the ground.

"Rick, Carl needs you." I said real soft. "Carl needs you, and your new baby needs you."

Rick moved so quick he actually startled me. I thought he was gettin' up to come with me, but he didn't. He went in the other direction, in the direction Maggie and Carl had come from. I watched him go.

I decided to leave him be. If he needed some time to himself, I wouldn't stand in his way. If I lost Roslyn, I might've reacted the same way. I could sympathize.

I went inside. Beth and Carl were standin' outside of the cell Hershel had been sleepin' in. Dennis was still with Sophia. Glenn, Maggie, and Roslyn were huddled together. Roslyn wasn't cryin' anymore, but she didn't look any better than before.

"What's goin' on?" I asked, walkin' up to them.

"My dad is checking out the baby." Maggie said. "It's a girl."

I nodded.

"We're going to need some things for the baby." Maggie said. "I'm going to make a run to town."

"I'll go with you." Glenn said.

"No." Maggie shook her head. "You need to stay here."

Maggie put her arm around Roslyn.

"You two need to grieve for your friend." Maggie said, lookin' between the two of them. "I already asked Axel and Oscar to help dig graves for T-Dog and…"

I looked over at Oscar and Axel. Sure enough, they were both holdin' shovels. Maybe they weren't so bad after all.

"What about you?" Glenn asked.

"I'll go with her." I said. "We can take my bike."

"Thank you." Maggie gave me a nod.

"Let's get goin'." I said. "I don't want to be gone long."

I stared at Roslyn. She could lean on Glenn while I was gone. Eventually, she would need me. Then, I'd be there for her. Besides, somethin' told me Rick wasn't gonna be up for helpin' out or tellin' us what to do next for a little while. I'd have to take over while he was off doin' his thing.

0o0o0

Maggie and I found a daycare place to raid for baby stuff. We went inside. While Maggie grabbed up things we'd need, I kept a lookout. I had my crossbow at the ready in case walkers showed their ugly, geek faces.

As I looked around, I saw a girlie outfit hangin' over a crib. I picked it up, looked it over. It was pretty tiny. I held it up for Maggie to see.

"Does this look good?" I asked.

Maggie looked up. She gave me a smile.

"Yeah." She nodded. "That looks good."

I looked at the little outfit. It was pink and pretty. It was hard to imagine somethin' so small bein' able to fit into it.

I hadn't thought about havin' a house or a little girl with Roslyn in a while. There hadn't been time to. I'd been too concerned with gettin' enough food into her to keep her alive another day to stop and think about things like that.

I imagined if that baby back at the prison was mine, if it was Roslyn's.

"What are you smiling about?" Maggie asked, still smilin' at me.

"Am I?" I asked, shovin' the outfit into my pocket. "I don't know. Just keep lookin'."

Maggie kept lookin' around. She filled up a basket with all kinds of things. There were clothes, diapers, toys, and boxes of formula. When the basket was full, we headed back to the prison.

Maggie and I passed by the two graves for T-Dog and Lori. They had been dug and filled in.

When we got to the cell block, the first thing I heard was the baby cryin'. Beth was rockin' the baby, but she was wailin'.

"We're back." Maggie announced, settin' down the basket. "I'll make her a bottle."

Beth carried the baby over while Maggie made up a bottle for the kid. When it was ready, she handed it to Beth. The baby wouldn't take it. She just kept screamin'.

I saw Roslyn walkin' over out of the corner of my eye. Her face and clothes were dirty from diggin' and fillin' the graves. Her eyes were red from cryin'. She had swept her hair back into a ponytail.

"Here," she said quietly, "give her to me."

Beth handed the baby over, then the bottle.

I heard Roslyn singin' somethin' real quiet to the baby while she rocked her. The baby started cryin' a little less. That was when Roslyn fed the bottle to her. The baby took it. She didn't spit it back out or make a fuss.

I watched Roslyn singin' to that baby.

_A little house in the woods with a red front door…A stream runnin' beside it…A tire swing hangin' from a tree nearby…A little girl swingin' from it…A little, blonde girl swingin' from it…_

"Daryl?"

I looked over at Maggie.

"What?" I asked.

"I asked if you could take the basket up to the perch." Maggie said. "Roslyn said we could make up the baby's bed up there until…"

"Yeah." I nodded.

0o0o0

Sometime durin' the night, I woke up when the baby started fussin' in her little basket bed. Roslyn was already on it, pullin' the little girl from the bed, bottle in hand. She started singin' that song from before while she fed the hungry gal.

"Where'd you learn that song?" I asked, watchin' the baby take the bottle.

Roslyn looked up at me.

"My mom used to sing it to me when I was little." Roslyn whispered in the dark.

I watched the way Roslyn rocked that little girl. It was why I cared for her, it was why she was mine. Here she was, goin' through somethin' awful, but she was rockin' another woman's baby so that Rick and Carl could grieve for their own loss.

"Will you…sing it a little louder?" I asked after a while.

Roslyn looked up at me again. She gave me a nod before she started singin' so I could hear the words.

"Baby mine, don't you cry." She sang in a soft voice. "Baby mine, dry your eyes. Rest your head close to my heart, never to part, baby of mine…"

Roslyn looked back down at the baby. She was still suckin' on the bottle.

"Keep goin'." I whispered, scootin' closer.

"Little one, when you play, don't you mind what they say." Roslyn sang. "Let those eyes sparkle and shine, never a tear, baby of mine…"

I closed my eyes, listenin' to Roslyn singin'. I could see our future in the little house in the woods. It was makin' me feel better about everything that'd happened. I felt the load on my shoulders growin' lighter as I thought about the little blonde girl in the woods.

"…baby of mine." Roslyn finished singin'.

I opened my eyes. The baby had fallen asleep. Most of the formula was gone.

I took the baby from Roslyn to lay in the little basket bed. She was so little, so light. I couldn't believe we were all that small once.

As Roslyn and I laid back down, I wrapped my arms around her.

"I want to tell you somethin'." I whispered. "I'm real proud of you for steppin' up after the shit you went through today. You were always strong, but you've gotten a lot stronger. I'm just…real proud of you."

"Thank you." Roslyn mumbled into my shirt.

"I'm sorry you lost your friend." I said. "You want to talk about it?"

Roslyn lifted her head to look at me.

"He was so brave." Roslyn whispered, her eyes shinin' with tears. "He…he got bitten. That's when we found that door leading inside. I thought we could amputate…"

"Where'd he get bit?" I asked. "Show me."

Roslyn clamped her hand down over my shoulder, real close to my neck.

"We wouldn't have been able to." I told her, not wantin' her to feel guilty.

"I know." Roslyn nodded, tears comin' down her face. "I just…I just couldn't…"

"I know, girl." I said, liftin' a hand to dry her tears.

"He sacrificed himself…so that I could get away." Roslyn sniffed, tryin' to cry quietly. "It was so awful. He felt everything…"

"Shh." I pulled Roslyn down to hold her again. "T-Dog was your friend. He was protectin' you because he cared about you. He made a choice."

I held onto Roslyn, even when she fell asleep.

0o0o0

The next mornin', I got up real early to clear out more of the prison with Axel, Oscar, and Dennis. It took us the better part of a day to get it done. Apparently, all hell had broke loose while we were gone. There was some black woman sittin' outside the cell block.

"What the hell happened?" I asked, walkin' over to Rick.

"She has a basket full of baby formula and other supplies." Rick said. "Maggie and Glenn haven't come back from their trip into town yet."

"Well, what the hell?" I asked, pointin' at the black woman through the bars. "Let's find out what happened."

Rick opened the gate. I raised my crossbow, pointin' it at the black lady.

"You better start talkin'." I threatened her.

"Where did you find this basket?" Rick asked.

"I found the basket after your friends were kidnapped." The black lady said, her voice all low and quiet. "I saw them being taken. I stayed hidden."

"How did you know where to find us?"

"I overheard your friends talking about the prison."

"You didn't do nothin' to help them?" I asked.

"What could I do?" The black woman asked. "I was wounded. Besides, I don't know you people."

"You came here for a reason." Rick said. "You didn't have to come here. Why did you?"

The black lady looked down at the floor.

"I know where your friends are." She said. "They're in a place called Woodbury."

"Woodbury?" I asked.

"It's a town about five or ten miles away from here." The black woman said. "The people there are led by a man who calls himself the Governor."

"The Governor?" Rick asked.

"He's crazy." The black lady said. "He has a tank full of human heads. I saw it myself."

I looked over at Rick. This Governor character _did_ sound crazy. Batshit crazy.

"We have to go for Glenn and Maggie." Rick said, lookin' at the black woman. "You're going to come with us. You're going to show us the way to his place, and help us get inside and rescue our friends."

I returned to the cell block.

"What's happening?" Roslyn asked, passing the baby to Beth.

"It's Glenn and Maggie." I said, tryin' to be quiet.

"My sister?" Beth asked. "What happened to my sister?"

I sighed. Beth drew attention to Hershel, who hobbled over with everybody else.

"Glenn and Maggie have been taken." I said to everyone. "This lady back here is goin' to take a group of us to where they are. We're gonna bring them back."

"I'll go." Beth said.

"No." Roslyn and I said at the same time.

"Beth, you need to stay here with your dad and the baby." Roslyn said. "I'll go instead. I promise that I'll bring Maggie back."

"I only want a few of us going along." Rick said, comin' up behind me.

"You know I'm in." I said.

It was decided that Rick, Roslyn, Oscar, and I would go with the black lady, whose name turned out to be Michonne. Dennis wanted to come, but everyone thought it was best he stay with Sophia.

Everyone came to see us off.

"Dennis, I want to tell you something." I heard Roslyn say.

I turned around to see Roslyn had pulled Dennis off to the side.

"What is it?" Dennis asked.

"I wanted you to know that…I'm glad you're here." Roslyn said. "I know we've had our differences since you've joined the group, but I'm glad that we found each other."

Dennis looked surprised. I was too.

"There's something else." Roslyn said. "I want you to know that…I forgive you."

"What?" Dennis asked.

"I forgive you." Roslyn said again.

I watched them, waitin' for Dennis to say somethin'. Instead, he pulled Roslyn into a hug. Even though I'd been against Dennis bein' with us from the beginnin', over the past few months, he changed his attitude. Seein' him and Roslyn make up didn't bother me like it would've back at Hershel's farm. I was glad for Roslyn.

When the car was loaded up, we were ready to go.


	21. Just In Case

_When You Say Nothing At All_

**Just In Case**

**Author's Note: **Hello, everyone. I was just thinking of this today, so I figured I would ask any of you who plan on following future stories of mine. In my profile, there are two synopses for 'coming attractions'. I was wondering, do any of you have a preference as to which story comes first?

**ScornedxRose: **I caught you by surprise! You'll see what happens with that situation in this chapter. Here's your update!

**VealMaster: **Wow. Thank you so much! I'm so glad you could easily feel Roslyn's emotions. You'll get the answer to your question in this chapter! I, too, am surprised when Daryl leaves behind his OC to go with Merle. I guess it's dealer's choice. Thanks again for your review! I hope you have a great day, also!

**FanFicGirl10: **I do love that scene between Daryl and Judith. You'll find out what happens with that in this chapter! Here's your update!

0o0o0

**Roslyn's POV**

As we drove away from the prison, I kept to myself. I didn't look up. I knew that Daryl was glancing at me in the rearview mirror. I could feel his eyes. I stared down at the rifle across my lap.

There was a reason I had said what I said to my brother, the first reason being that it was true. Over the past few months, he had proven himself to me. He had found better ways of voicing his opinions. He had even tried to get to know Daryl on a few occasions.

The other reason was the feeling churning in my stomach. It was the feeling that had gripped me the first night at the prison, the feeling that had taken over after T-Dog was killed. Something wasn't right. I didn't know what was going to happen, or to who. I didn't know if our whole group was in danger, if it was just a few of us, or maybe even one of us. All I knew was that something bad was in the air, and it wasn't just Glenn and Maggie's kidnapping.

When we were a few miles out, Rick pulled the car over.

"Roslyn?"

I looked up as I adjusted the gun at my waist. Daryl walked up to me.

"What?" I asked.

"I wanted to give you this." Daryl held out a bottle to me. "It's pepper spray. I found it with the flashbangs and tear gas."

I took the pepper spray, clipping it onto one of my belt loops.

"You okay?" Daryl asked, touching my face with his free hand.

"I'm all right." I replied, giving him the best fake smile I could muster.

"You sure?" Daryl asked. "You looked pretty glum in the backseat."

"There isn't a whole lot to be excited about right now." I said, my smile fading fast.

"I know." Daryl murmured, his hand dropping to mine. "Everything is goin' to be all right. We're gonna find Glenn and Maggie. We're gonna take them back to the prison. It'll be fine."

I looked up into Daryl's eyes as he ran his fingers over my mood ring.

"Okay." I said finally.

"Let's move." Rick said, waving for Daryl and I.

The five of us moved through the woods in formation, keeping our weapons at the ready. Rick and Michonne were at the head of the group. I was in the middle. Daryl and Oscar were behind me. We stayed in that formation the whole way.

As we came up on a cabin in the middle of the woods, we also came up on a bunch of walkers. There were about ten of them just wandering around, but when they saw us, they started for our group.

"Get inside!" Rick shouted, waving his arm.

We all got into the cabin, taking shelter inside from the walkers. I turned around in the doorway, watching as Daryl stayed behind. He had put an arrow in one of the walkers, and was using the butt of his shotgun to bust in the head of another one.

The bad feeling in my stomach swirled.

"Daryl!" I shouted.

Daryl ignored my call. He put the butt of his gun into another head.

"Daryl!" I snarled, fighting against Rick's hand to get out of the cabin. "Get the fuck inside! Now!"

Daryl turned to look at me, his eyes wide with surprise by my tone and my words. He ripped the arrow out of the fallen walker before backing up into the cabin. When he was inside, Rick shut the door.

"Damn, girl." Daryl muttered, looking over at me.

Suddenly, there was a gunshot from behind us. I turned, ducking down close to the floor as Daryl stepped in front of me, crouching in a similar fashion.

Oscar lay dead and bleeding on the floor. A man, who had to have been hiding when we entered, was standing over Oscar's body.

Before any words could be exchanged, Daryl put a bullet in the man's head.

"What the fuck just happened?" Daryl asked, slowly standing to his full height.

"I don't know." Rick replied, looking out the window. "There's no way we're going to be able to get out of here."

"The hell with that." Daryl said, walking over to the dead bodies on the floor. "We'll throw this fucker out the front door. The geeks'll be distracted. We'll be able to sneak out the back."

"That might work."

Rick helped Daryl pull the unknown man to his feet. They dragged him towards the front door. When they were ready, Michonne opened it. They threw the body out for the walkers. We could hear them feasting from inside of the cabin.

"Let's go." Rick said, starting for the back door.

The three of us followed, leaving Oscar dead on the floor. There was nothing we could do for him.

We stayed in a group as we made our way towards Woodbury, the light fading as the day carried on. By the time we reached the walls of the town, the sun had set. The moon was shining brightly in the sky. It was going to be difficult sneaking in.

As Rick and Michonne devised a plan, I stood with Daryl. I looked up at him under the moonlight. I thought about that night we had said goodbye to each other nearly a year ago. The way my grandpa's crossbow was slung over his back, the way he held his shotgun in his strong arms…I had been right about Daryl Dixon. He had survived this long, and he would continue to survive.

"What?" Daryl asked, noticing my stare.

"Nothing." I told him, wrapping an arm around his waist. "I was just remembering something."

"What's that?"

"Let's get going." Rick hissed in the dark. "We have to move fast."

I looked up at Daryl. He was looking over at Rick and Michonne, oblivious of my stare.

"Daryl?"

"What?" Daryl asked, looking down at me with a cocked eyebrow.

"Just in case I don't see you again." I murmured, leaning up on my toes to meet his lips.

I pulled Daryl into me with my arm around his waist. Though he was surprised at first, he recovered quickly as always. He moved his free hand into my hair, pulling me deeper into our kiss. Our lips parted at almost the exact same moment. I took my time, even though Rick was hissing at both of us for not following him.

After I took my moment with Daryl, I released him. Before he could say anything, I scampered towards the wall after Rick. I turned only to make sure Daryl was following. He was staring after me, a quizzical look on his face. It disappeared when our eyes met.

We followed Rick, who followed Michonne. She led us into Woodbury, keeping us out of sight of the several guards positioned on the walls surrounding the town. She eventually led us to a tall building. We moved inside of it in formation, heading to the lowest level.

As we approached, we heard a commotion. I prepared my rifle, aiming in the direction of the struggle as we descended the stairs. It was Maggie and Glenn fighting off a handful of men.

"Get down!" Daryl shouted to me, firing off rounds at the men trying to hurt Glenn and Maggie.

I ducked behind the banister, but took aim using it to balance my rifle. I fired a shot at one of the men standing closest to Maggie. He was hurled backwards through the open doorway from the force of my shot. By the time I took aim again, the men were all dead.

"Come on!" Rick shouted to Glenn and Maggie as Michonne hurriedly untied them.

I noticed Glenn's face. He had been beat to shit. One of his eyes was swelling badly, while he bled from cuts across his lips and cheeks.

We crossed the road to a dark, little house as the town began to come alive.

"How are we going to get out of here?" Maggie asked, seemingly untouched.

"We'll think of something, just don't panic." Rick insisted, suddenly looking around. "Where is Michonne?"

"Who?" Glenn asked.

"Michonne, the woman who brought us here." Rick replied.

"She must've split." Daryl said.

"Where would she have gone?" I asked. "Why would she leave us?"

"I don't know, but it doesn't matter." Rick said, pushing the hair out of his face. "She did her job. If she wants to stay in Woodbury, that's her business. My priority is getting us out of here."

"There are guards all over the place." Glenn said, looking over at Daryl. "One of them is your brother."

Daryl's eyes widened. He crossed the room towards Glenn.

"What?" He asked, visibly shocked. "My brother is here?"

"Yeah." Glenn replied. "He's the one who did _this_ to me."

Glenn pointed at the wounds covering his face.

"We have to find him." Daryl said, looking around at all of us. "We have to bring him with us-"

"No way!" Glenn shouted.

"Cut it out." Rick hissed, standing in between Daryl and Glenn. "We don't have time for this. We need to get out of here. We need to get out of here alive."

"Rick-"

"Daryl, please." Rick interrupted, turning to look at him. "We have to get out of here. Think of Glenn and Maggie. Think of Roslyn."

Daryl looked over at me. He clenched his jaw, nodding his head in agreement.

"All right." Rick patted Daryl's shoulder. "Now, let's get the hell out of Woodbury."

Rick thought up a plan to get us out using the smoke grenades he and Daryl had discovered back at the prison. We would use those as cover to get to the walls.

On Rick's signal, Glenn and Daryl both tossed grenades out into the street. When they went off, the air became thick with white smoke. It was our chance to get out.

As we neared the walls, there were gunshots all around us. In the smoke, I couldn't see how many men were firing at us. The bullets were coming from all different directions.

"I'll cover you!" Daryl shouted over the gunfire. "Run! I'll be right behind you!"

Daryl whipped around, firing his shotgun to provide cover fire for the rest of us.

I ran towards the wall. Glenn and Maggie were already on top of it. They both reached out their hands to me, ready to help me up. I turned, watching as Rick and Daryl laid down fire to cover us.

"They're all right." Maggie insisted. "Come on, Roslyn."

I accepted their hands. They pulled me up onto the wall.

"You girls get down." Glenn told us. "I'll stay here to help Rick and Daryl."

Maggie and I gripped one another as we jumped down onto the ground. We landed in crouches, our hands still clasped together. We let go once we had backed up against the wall. We both looked up, waiting for the others to come down. I kept waiting for Daryl to jump down.

After a while, the gunfire died down.

"Where are they?" I said aloud, becoming restless.

Suddenly, Glenn jumped down. Glenn was closely followed by Rick.

"Where's Daryl?" I asked, still waiting for him to drop down in front of me.

"Roslyn, you need to stay calm." Rick said, holding out his hand. "We're going back in for him."

"Where is he?" I demanded, getting to my feet. "Where is Daryl?"

"He was captured by the Governor's men." Rick replied gently.

"What?" I reached out to shove Rick. "How could that happen? How could you let that happen?"

Maggie pulled me away from Rick, her arms surrounding me in an embrace.

"We're going back in for him." Rick insisted. "I just wanted us to regroup before we did."

"What are we waiting for?" I asked, moving out of Maggie's arms as I brandished my rifle.

Suddenly, a figure approached. As I turned to see who it was, hoping it was Daryl, Rick grabbed the figure. I could see it was Michonne as Rick held her against the wall.

"Where did you go?" Rick asked, pinning Michonne to the wall.

"I had business to take care of." Michonne replied. "Let go of me."

"Why should we believe her?" Glenn asked.

"You should believe me," Michonne looked right into my eyes, "because I know where they took your man."

0o0o0

With our plan set, we made our way back into Woodbury much easily than before. There wasn't a soul in sight, and after Michonne's explanation, I knew why. They were all at the fight.

We made our way to the little arena. It took all of my restraint not to run to Daryl as I saw him in the center of the ring. I had never seen him look so scared as he was standing there. Merle was also in the middle of the circle.

I stood behind the corner of the building, waiting. Rick was on the opposite side of the arena, in the same position as I was. Glenn, Maggie, and Michonne were scattered. We were all equipped with smoke grenades and our guns. We were ready to get Daryl out of there.

On Rick's signal, he and I both tossed grenades as far from where we stood as possible. The arena became filled with smoke as Glenn and Maggie fired their weapons from their vantage points. I waited to fire until I was sure who I was firing at. When I could make out the form of a Woodbury soldier, I fired off a round.

After a while, I ran towards the smoke to make sure Daryl was all right. As I was running towards the arena, I saw my grandpa's crossbow on the ground. Daryl would be needing it back.

I set down my rifle to pick up the crossbow, knowing I would need both my hands. I heaved it into my arms, holding it up as I searched for Daryl.

Suddenly, a form moved out of the smoke. Before I could comprehend who it was coming towards me, I felt two things at once. I felt a burning sensation ripping through my torso as I was thrown backwards onto the ground. My grandpa's crossbow was hurled from my grasp.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Daryl roared from somewhere nearby.

I was only aware of the burning as I laid on the ground. I didn't have to look down to know what had happened. I had been shot. I couldn't help but feel a sense of déjà vu as I laid on the ground, bleeding from a gunshot wound. For days I had felt uneasy, and obviously for just cause. I was just glad that it was me, that it wasn't Daryl.

"Baby!" Daryl called out, suddenly dropping down on his knees beside me. "Baby, baby. I'm here. Oh god…baby, I'm here."

I thought I had seen fear before on Daryl's face, but that was nothing compared to the expression he gave me as he looked down at me. Though I was bleeding profusely, I wanted nothing more than to find some way to make that look on Daryl's face disappear.

"I'm gettin' you out of here." Daryl said suddenly, gathering me into his arms like he had done so many times before. "I'm gettin' you out of here, Roslyn."

The burning in my torso worsened as Daryl ran with me in his arms. I wanted to tell him to stop, to put me down, but I knew that could get him killed. I would fight through the pain if that meant Daryl could get out of Woodbury alive.

"Stay with me, baby." Daryl pleaded, looking down at me as his steps slowed. "Just stay with me. Just keep lookin' up at me, baby. Don't look anywhere else. You look at me."

I looked up at Daryl as I felt him moving me through a fence. He was trying so hard to be gentle as he moved me, but he wanted to move faster. He wanted to save me. That was enough for me.

I kept my eyes on Daryl's face as he carried me through the woods. Every few seconds, he would look down at me. He wanted to make sure that I was awake, that I was alive.

I felt my blood soaking through Daryl's shirt. I could practically feel it being drained from my body. I knew there was no way that I was making it back to the prison. There was no way that my body, already weakened by lack of food for so many months, would hold up long enough. I was dying.

"Daryl…" I murmured, trying to hold onto my voice so that I could speak.

"Shh." Daryl shooshed me softly. "Save your strength, Roslyn. We're almost there."

"Daryl…" I suddenly felt a horrible, shooting pain running through my torso. "Daryl…"

Daryl seemed to sense the agony I was in. He dropped to his knees, holding me in his arms so that I wouldn't be on the ground.

"Daryl…there's not…much time." I managed to say, pausing when the shooting pain became too much for me to handle.

"Don't say that." Daryl shook his head. "Don't you do that. Don't give up on me."

"I…would never…give up on you." I replied.

"Just look at me, baby." Daryl lifted a hand to my face. "Oh god…you're so cold…"

"Daryl…" I was having trouble keeping my voice.

"Roslyn, look at me!" Daryl suddenly shouted, his hand shaking against my face. "Don't look anywhere else. You look at me. You look at _me_, baby."

The pain was starting to fade, but a new feeling was taking over. It was a peaceful feeling. I felt as though I were slipping into a deep, restful sleep. I couldn't go yet. I had to stay awake for just a few more minutes. I had to. I had to fight the urge to close my eyes.

"Thank you." I said, trying to raise my hand. "Thank you…for keeping me alive…this long."

"I'm gonna keep you alive a lot longer." Daryl replied, brushing hair away from my face. "You're gonna live through this. You're gonna live through all this with me."

"I wish I could." I murmured.

"We're gonna live in that little house together." Daryl told me. "I'm gonna build a tire swing for our little girl. You're gonna swing on it together."

I felt tears running down my face as Daryl described the future he saw for us.

"I wish I could." I cried, trying to save my strength. "I'm so sorry…I let you down."

"Don't do that." Daryl said, his hand caressing my face. "Don't feel bad about things you shouldn't feel bad about. Remember?"

"Daryl…" I tried lifting my hand again. "I…want to touch you…please…"

Daryl's hand left my face, but only so that he could press my hand to his face.

"I can't…I can't hold on…much longer…" I said, seeing the horror flicker through Daryl's eyes.

"You're gonna be all right, baby." Daryl insisted. "The others, they're comin'. We're gonna get you back to the prison. Hershel will-"

"Daryl…" I choked out, forcing myself to hang on. "Daryl…please…"

I tried to press my hand harder to his face, but I couldn't. I couldn't feel my body. I could barely feel my lips as I spoke. I knew my time was running out.

"I…need to tell you…something." I said, focusing with all of my might on Daryl's face.

"What is it, girl?" Daryl asked.

"Since…since…Hershel's farm…" I gasped. "I…I have loved you. I…have loved you…all this time."

Suddenly, Daryl began to cry. Tears fell silently down his cheeks.

"I…love you." I whispered. "I love you…so much…Daryl."

"I love you too, baby." Daryl replied, his voice thick with the tears running down his face. "I've loved you for a long time. I should've told you sooner-"

"You're telling me now." I interrupted, trying to smile.

I suddenly choked. As I tried to speak again, I coughed up what I had choked on. I felt something warm running down my chin. I knew what it was. I knew it was blood coming from my mouth.

"Baby." Daryl said urgently, leaning down over me. "Baby, look at me."

"I…love you." I managed to choke out, my voice barely a whisper. "I…love…you…"

I couldn't hold on anymore. I had been fighting through the pain and the heaviness. I couldn't anymore. I looked into Daryl's blue eyes, focusing on them as I let go of my life. He was the hardest things I was letting go of, but if I was going to die, his eyes were the last thing I wanted to see.

With my last breath, I tried to tell him I loved him again. I don't know if the words came out of my mouth, but I could feel them shining in my eyes.


	22. EAN

**Emergency Author's Note: **Hello, everyone. Okay, let's all just take a deep breath together. All right, so clearly, a lot of you are upset about Roslyn's death. Let me clear this up right now: yes, I intended to kill Roslyn in the previous chapter. It wasn't supposed to be a dream sequence, her passing out from blood loss, etc. Let me explain why. I didn't originally plan on Roslyn dying. It wasn't until about halfway through the story that I toyed around with the idea. I mean, let's face it, you can't always have a happy ending. Look what happened to Lori on the show. I didn't anticipate how upset you guys would be! So…I want to leave this in your hands. Do you want me to end the story here? If it ends here, I'll write one more chapter and then an epilogue as I originally planned. OR…do you want me to continue? Let me be clear: I had no intentions of keeping Roslyn alive, so it might take me a hot second to think of what should happen next. Let me know by the end of the day what you guys want to happen.


	23. Choice

_When You Say Nothing At All_

**Choice**

**Author's Note: **Hey, everyone. After an overwhelming response, I've decided…

0o0o0

**Daryl's POV**

When I saw the smoke grenades on the ground, I knew they'd come back. Smoke started fillin' the arena. I used the smoke to my advantage. I landed a punch on one of the guys standin' close to me. He stumbled back, but came at me when he came to his senses. I was ready. I hit him again, sendin' him flyin' backwards.

I made my way out of the smoke, lookin' for my crossbow. One of the son of a bitches who grabbed me up took it. I stumbled through the smoke, lookin' all over for it. Nobody was concernin' themselves with me. They were tryin' to get out too.

As I was lookin', I saw one of the soldiers headin' out towards the street. He had his rifle ready. I started for him, ready to tackle his ass to the ground. That's when he fired his gun. My eyes followed the bullet. I felt my eyes goin' wide when I saw Roslyn bein' thrown backwards. She'd been shot.

"NOOOOOOOOO!"

I flung myself at the son of a bitch, throwin' his fuckin' ass to the ground. When I was on top of him, I wrestled him onto his back.

"You fuckin'," I wrestled the gun away from him, "son of a bitch!"

I used the butt of the gun as my weapon. I slammed it into his skull. I busted his head open on the first hit, but I kept goin'. I kept slammin' that gun into his fuckin' head until it was a pulpy mess. I felt his blood and brains sprayin' over me, but I didn't care.

The only reason I stopped was Roslyn.

"Baby!" I called, climbin' off of the dead soldier.

I ran to where she was layin'. She was just starin' up at the sky, but when I kneeled down beside her, she looked up at me.

"Baby, baby. I'm here." I said, lowerin' my eyes to see the bullet wound in her side. "Oh god…baby, I'm here."

She was bleedin' somethin' awful. My girl was bleedin'. I wanted to kill more of those fuckin' bastards. I wanted to kill them all. I wanted to put the Governor's fuckin' head in a tank of my own. My girl was bleedin'. I needed to get her out. I needed to get her back to the prison.

"I'm gettin' you out of here." I said, wrappin' my arms around her. "I'm gettin' you out of here, Roslyn."

I picked Roslyn up, carryin' her in my arms. If I was hurtin' her, she didn't show it. I didn't know how much she was feelin', if anything at all. I wanted to be gentler, but I had to be quick. If causin' Roslyn some discomfort meant gettin' her to Hershel in time to save her life, I'd do it. I'd feel bad, but I'd do it.

When I found a place in the fence to get through, I looked down at Roslyn. Her eyes were only half open. She looked like she might fall asleep at any moment. She was slippin' away from me. She couldn't. I had to keep her awake. I had to keep her alive.

"Stay with me, baby." I told her. "Just stay with me. Just keep lookin' up at me, baby. Don't look anywhere else. You look at me."

Roslyn's eyes opened a little more. I kept my eyes on her for a second before I moved us through the fence. I tried to slip through without joggin' her around in my arms. She didn't make a sound. She just kept lookin' up at me.

When I got into the woods, I moved faster. I held Roslyn closer to me when I felt her blood soakin' through her clothes and into mine. I kept lookin' down at her, makin' sure her eyes were open. She was always lookin' up at me. It would've made me feel better if I wasn't so aware of her face gettin' paler and her blood soakin' into my shirt.

"Daryl…" Roslyn suddenly said, her voice real quiet and soft.

"Shh. Save your strength, Roslyn. We're almost there."

"Daryl…" I looked down as Roslyn's face scrunched up in pain. "Daryl…"

Roslyn was breathin' real sharp and quick. I knew she was hurtin'. She was feelin' the bullet wound. She was feelin' me runnin' through the woods. I wanted to keep movin', but knowin' she was in pain, I just wanted to make her feel better. I needed to make her feel better.

I kneeled down, holdin' Roslyn in my arms.

"Daryl…there's not…much time." Roslyn said.

I could tell it was takin' a lot of her strength for her to talk. She was givin' up. She was tryin' to say goodbye to me. I couldn't take it. I couldn't let her give up.

"Don't say that." I shook my head. "Don't you do that. Don't give up on me."

"I…would never…give up on you."

"Just look at me, baby." I unwrapped an arm from around her to touch her cheek. Her skin was so cool under my hand. "Oh god…you're so cold…"

"Daryl…" Roslyn's voice was weaker as her eyes rolled back in her head.

"Roslyn, look at me!" I shouted, shakin' her face with my hand to get her attention. "Don't look anywhere else. You look at me. You look at _me_, baby."

The only sound in the night was Roslyn's harsh breaths. If I could've been breathin' for her, if I could've taken the bullet for her, I would've.

"Thank you. Thank you…for keeping me alive…this long."

"I'm gonna keep you alive a lot longer." I promised, brushin' hair out of her face. "You're gonna live through this. You're gonna live through all this with me."

"I wish I could." Roslyn said.

I had to get her morale up. I had to get Roslyn to believe she'd be all right. If she believed she'd be okay, she'd pull through. She couldn't give up. She had to fight.

"We're gonna live in that little house together. I'm gonna build a tire swing for our little girl. You're gonna swing on it together."

As I was talkin', I saw tears runnin' down Roslyn's cheeks. It was enough to make me want to cry, but I couldn't. I couldn't break down. If I broke down, she'd think I was givin' up on her.

"I wish I could." Roslyn cried. "I'm so sorry…I let you down."

I ran my fingers along Roslyn's wet cheek. I hadn't meant to make her feel worse.

"Don't do that. Don't feel bad about things you shouldn't feel bad about. Remember?"

"Daryl…I…want to touch you…please…" Roslyn begged.

I gently lifted her hand to my face. I pressed her palm to my cheek. Her hand was cold.

"I can't…I can't hold on…much longer…" Roslyn said, her voice gettin' weaker.

I was gettin' scared. Nothin' I was sayin' was makin' Roslyn fight to live. Nothin' I was sayin' was gettin' through to her. I was startin' to regret stoppin' in the first place.

"You're gonna be all right, baby. The others, they're comin'. We're gonna get you back to the prison. Hershel will-"

"Daryl…" I was gettin' more worried when Roslyn started chokin'. "Daryl…please…"

Her hand twitched against my face.

"I…need to tell you…something." Roslyn said.

"What is it, girl?" I asked, tryin' to be strong for her.

"Since…since…Hershel's farm…I…I have loved you. I…have loved you…all this time."

As she was talkin', I felt tears spillin' over onto my cheeks. I was a goddamn idiot. Roslyn loved me. She loved me.

"I…love you. I love you…so much…Daryl." Roslyn whispered.

I was a fuckin' asshole. I had loved that girl a long time, but I hadn't told her. I'd been afraid she wouldn't say it back. I'd been afraid she'd think I was an idiot. I'd been so goddamn scared. I'd been so scared for nothin'.

"I love you too, baby. I've loved you for a long time. I should've told you sooner-"

"You're telling me now." Roslyn's lips twitched.

Suddenly, Roslyn started chokin' again. I tried liftin' her up to help her breathe. After a minute, she coughed a whole bunch. When she coughed, blood sprayed out of her mouth. A streak of it dribbled down her chin. Her eyelids were startin' to droop.

"Baby." I leaned closer to her. "Baby, look at me."

"I…love you." Roslyn whispered. "I…love…you…"

She had barely finished talkin' when her eyes closed.

"Baby?" I shook Roslyn in my arms. "Baby? Baby, open your eyes."

I started shakin' Roslyn harder, tryin' to get her to wake up. She had drifted off to sleep. She had passed out. I just knew it. She wasn't gone. She was just unconscious.

"Baby!" I shouted in her face. "Open your eyes! Open your fuckin' eyes, Roslyn!"

Suddenly, someone was grabbin' me. I didn't care who it was. It could've been a walker. I wouldn't have given a goddamn. I let the hands take me.

Merle came into view. He laid Roslyn down on the ground as the hands jerked me to my feet. Seein' Merle leanin' over Roslyn suddenly enraged me.

"Get your fuckin' hands off her!" I shouted, fightin' the hands. "Get off her!"

"Daryl, relax." I heard Rick say from beside me.

I watched Merle put his ear to Roslyn's chest. A second later, he lifted his head.

"I can hear her heart beatin'." Merle said, lookin' up at me. "The girl's alive…for now…"

Somethin' inside me flared up when I heard Merle say Roslyn was alive. I pitched forward, gatherin' my girl into my arms. I had to get her to the prison. She wasn't gone. She wasn't dead. There was still a chance for her.

0o0o0

**Roslyn's POV**

I couldn't feel anything. I couldn't feel any pain, any heaviness. I felt weightless. I felt as though I was floating. I felt like a breeze could carry me away.

"Roslyn?"

I opened my eyes. I hadn't realized they were closed.

"Roslyn?"

When I opened my eyes, I looked around. I didn't recognize the house I was suddenly in. I had no recollection of how I had gotten there. It looked like a normal enough place. I didn't feel threatened or uneasy. I just felt…weightless.

"Roslyn?"

I looked up. Lori was standing in the doorway. She looked beautiful and healthy. When our eyes met, she smiled at me.

"Come on, Roslyn." Lori said, waving her hand for me to follow her. "We have a lot to talk about."

"Where am I?" I asked, looking around. "Where are we?"

"This is what my house looked like before the outbreak." Lori replied.

"Why are we here?" I asked, getting out of the chair I was sitting in.

"This is where I rest now." Lori said, waving to me again. "Come on. There's not much time."

I followed Lori into the next room. When I did, my jaw dropped. Sitting around the table were Carol, Dale, and T-Dog. They all looked wonderful and happy. They were smiling at me.

"Dale…" I whispered, looking over at T-Dog. "T…"

T-Dog got up out of his chair. We both threw our arms around each other at the same moment. I felt like I should be crying, but I couldn't. There were no tears to be shed. There was no sadness in my heart. I felt only happiness at being reunited with my friend.

"I miss you." I told him as we ended our hug.

"I know you do." T-Dog replied with a grin. "I miss you too."

"Have a seat, Roslyn." Dale said, waving his arm at an empty chair. "We should talk."

I took a seat in the empty chair.

"What's going on?" I asked. "What do we have to talk about?"

"Do you remember what happened before you woke up here?" Lori asked.

I thought back to where I had been before waking up in Lori's home. I concentrated hard. The moment I thought of Daryl's face, it all came rushing back to me.

"Oh my god…" I gasped. "Am I…am I dead?"

"No." Lori shook her head. "You're not dead."

"_We're_ dead." T-Dog said, leaning back in his chair.

"What am I doing here?" I asked, looking around at all of their faces.

"You're having a near death experience." Dale explained. "That's what we wanted to talk to you about. That's why we brought you here."

"I don't understand." I replied.

"You have a choice." Carol said. "You can decide if you want to return to your life at the prison, or if you want to let go…and come with us."

"What?" I asked, having a hard time wrapping my mind around what I was being told.

"It's your decision." Dale said. "It's your choice."

I looked around at all of their faces.

"Can I ask all of you a question?" I asked. "Are you…happy? Are all of you truly happy?"

"I'm happy." Carol replied. "I miss my daughter terribly, but…here, I can watch over her. I can watch over Sophia always."

Carol smiled.

"Your brother has done such a wonderful job taking care of Sophia."

"He loves her." I replied.

"I know he does." Carol sighed, closing her eyes. "I can feel it."

"The decision is yours, Roslyn." T-Dog said. "You're the only one who can make it. Either way, you got all of us looking out for you."

I blinked, and suddenly, Lori was the only one left with me. The others had vanished.

"Where…?" I looked all around.

"I just wanted a moment with you." Lori said, getting up so that she could sit in a chair closer to mine. "I wanted to thank you. All of you, but especially you, have been so wonderful taking care of Carl…and Judith…"

"Of course we have." I told Lori. "That's what we do. We take care of each other."

"I know." Lori nodded. "It's been easier for me to accept my new life knowing that my family is being taken care of by people who care about them."

"It's so hard." I shook my head. "I want to be with Daryl, but I was shot. Who knows how long my recovery would take? I would be such a burden to all of them…"

"You and I both know what Daryl would say to that." Lori smiled.

I closed my eyes.

"I just wish that I could have-"

"Rosy?"

I opened my eyes. When I did, I came face to face with my grandpa. He looked better than he had in years. The lines on his face were less harsh, the confusion in his eyes was gone…

"Grandpa…" I reached out towards him. "Oh, Grandpa. I wished for this…"

"I heard you." My grandpa replied, giving me a smile. "It's so good to see you, Rosy."

I wanted to cry out of joy, but I couldn't.

"Grandpa, what should I do?" I asked as he held my hand on the table. "What should I do?"

0o0o0

**Daryl's POV**

I looked down at Roslyn's face. She hadn't moved since she passed out in the woods. Every few seconds, I would press my hand to her chest to feel for her heartbeat. It was faint, but it was there. It was still there. There was still hope for my girl.

"Drive faster!" I shouted, lookin' up from Roslyn's face.

"We're almost there, Daryl." Rick said.

Michonne, Maggie, and Merle were walkin' back to the prison so that Roslyn could lay across the backseat in my lap. Glenn was gonna go back for them once we got back. I didn't care about that, though. I cared about Roslyn.

I saw the prison ahead.

"Hang on, girl." I whispered to Roslyn, wipin' away the blood dryin' on her chin. "Hang on, baby."

Rick had barely parked before I was gettin' out, Roslyn in my arms. Maggie had used Glenn's shirt to wrap Roslyn's waist for pressure to help stop the bleedin'. It had helped a little, but blood was still soakin' through the shirt.

I raced Roslyn into the prison, ignorin' everything and everyone else. I nearly ran right into the locked gate.

"Let me in!" I shouted. "Let me the fuck in! Roslyn's been shot! Unlock this fuckin' door!"

"Roslyn!" Dennis shouted, runnin' over when he saw her in my arms.

Dennis unlocked the gate, usherin' me in. He hovered over me as I practically ran to Hershel.

"You gotta save her." I said, holdin' Roslyn up in my arms. "She was shot-"

"Lay her down inside." Hershel motioned to the cell we were standin' in front of.

I moved inside of the cell, layin' Roslyn down on the bottom bunk. I didn't want to put her down, but I knew I had to if Hershel was gonna save her. I fixed her hair so that it was out of her face.

"I need you and Dennis to get to the infirmary." Hershel said. "There should be equipment in there for me to perform a transfusion. I've already listed the equipment off for Dennis."

"I'm not leavin' her." I said, shakin' my head. "Dennis can go alone."

"Daryl-"

"I said I ain't leavin' her!" I shouted, my voice echoin' in the cell block.

"Hershel, I can go by myself." Dennis said real quietly. "I'll be all right."

"Okay." Hershel nodded. "Okay. Hurry back."

I got out of the way so Hershel could check Roslyn out. I watched his every move, tryin' to see if he looked hopeful or not for Roslyn's recovery.

"What's your blood type, son?" Hershel asked, lookin' back at me.

"I don't know." I admitted. "Does it matter?"

"It matters a great deal." Hershel said, turnin' around towards me. "You can't give her blood if you can't tell me your type."

"Listen, old man." I shoved my sleeve up. "I don't give a shit what my type is. Roslyn needs blood, I'm gonna give it to her. I'll give her all my blood. I don't give a goddamn."

"Daryl-"

I whipped out my knife, slicin' open my skin just below my elbow. Blood started runnin' down my forearm.

"Look, I'm bleedin'." I said, pointin' to the gushin' blood. "You might as well use it."

"Lord Almighty…" Hershel reached for my arm, applyin' pressure to the cut.

"Roslyn and I are the same blood type."

I looked over to see Dennis had come back. He was already rollin' up his sleeve.

"Come in." Hershel waved for Dennis. "Let's get started. The sooner I perform this transfusion, the better her chances are of surviving."

Hershel let go of me.

"That's going to need stitches." Hershel pointed at me. "I'll take care of that later."

I watched as Hershel started takin' Dennis' blood, the blood that would hopefully save my girl's life. I wished it was my blood that would run in her veins, makin' her strong and healthy. I was just glad she was gettin' blood at all. She had a chance.

0o0o0

**Roslyn's POV**

"Grandpa, I don't know what to do." I said, holding his hand tighter.

"Rosy, you've been making tough decisions your whole life, even more so this past year." My grandpa replied. "This decision is easy."

"I don't see it that way." I answered quietly.

"What about your brother?" My grandpa asked. "Dennis will be devastated."

"He'll get over it." I said. "He has Sophia to take care of."

"What about the rest of the group?"

"They'll be able to get along without me. They got along without me all that time before I joined them." I sighed. "Having a gunshot wound to recover from will only slow them down, make them weaker. I would be a burden to them."

"What about that boy you've fallen in love with?" My grandpa asked with a smile. "What about Daryl?"

I bit my lip.

"He's the reason I would go back." I admitted softly. "I love him, and I know he loves me."

"This decision is easy, Rosy." My grandpa replied. "Choose life. You aren't old or sick or weak. You're a strong girl. You always have been. Choose life. Choose to live."

My grandpa's hand loosened in mine.

"I have to go, Rosy." He said as his hand slipped from mine. "You have to make this decision on your own."

"I love you, Grandpa." I said, feeling him slip away. "I love you, and I miss you."

"I love you too, Rosy." My grandpa whispered.

Then, I was alone.

I had to make my decision. I had to choose to let go of my life, or to return to it. Both choices had positives and negatives. This decision was going to change my life forever.

I decided to make my choice. I had taken enough time to think it over.

So I did. I closed my eyes, made my choice, and opened my eyes to the life I chose.


	24. Epilogue

_When You Say Nothing At All_

**Epilogue**

**Author's Note: **Hi, everyone. First of all, I want to say thank you to all of my readers. You give me the inspiration and encouragement to continue a story. Without your feedback and loyalty, it would be hard to push through moments of writer's block and dead ends. Though I originally planned to kill Roslyn, I decided to keep her alive at your request. I don't mind changing things here and there in order to please my loyal readers. Your feelings and opinions matter to me. I intended to have Roslyn die, for Daryl to have a breakdown similar to Rick's, and for Dennis to pull Daryl out of it. My intention for Dennis was always to have him redeem himself, and for he and Daryl to become friends. The epilogue was going to be Daryl and Dennis visiting Roslyn's gravesite years after the cure was discovered. On a final note, I'm going to start work on my next story, _Apocalypse_, very soon. The description for that story is in my profile, and I posted the prologue for it a while back. I hope to hear from some of you again!

0o0o0

**Roslyn's POV**

I woke up as sunlight filtered in through the window above the bed. I felt around for Daryl, finally opening my eyes when I couldn't find him. I was alone in bed, but he had left a note for me. I picked it up, squinting to read it in the sunlight.

_Took Caroline over to your brother's to see Sophia. Be back later._

_ Love,_

_ Your husband_

I smiled, casting the note aside as I stretched. When I did, my shirt lifted. I caught sight of the scar from my bullet wound from years ago. I couldn't believe it had been six years since I was shot while saving Daryl and Merle from Woodbury. Most days, it seemed like only yesterday that I had nearly died in Daryl's arms in the woods. It was a night he didn't like to talk about.

I got up out of bed and dressed. As I was pulling a shirt on over my head, the phone rang. I jogged into the kitchen to pick it up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Roslyn, it's me." Dennis answered. "Did I wake you up?"

"No." I replied. "So…don't leave me hanging. Did she pass?"

"She passed." Dennis sounded excited. "She passed with flying colors."

"That's great." I said with a smile, leaning against the counter. "Sophia got her GED. It seems like yesterday that kid was twelve years old."

"I know." Dennis sighed. "Now she has her high school equivalency, will be ready for online college courses until schools reopen within the next few years…is engaged to Carl…"

"What?!" I cried, leaning forward. "Did you say _engaged_?!"

I heard a female voice in the background. I figured it was Sophia.

"Sophia says I shouldn't have told you. Apparently, they want to tell everyone together at Sophia's celebratory party next week." Dennis' voice became hushed. "I'll call you later and tell you everything."

"Okay." I chuckled. "Are my husband and kid there?"

"They just left a few minutes ago." Dennis replied. "They should be headed your way."

"All right, well I better start lunch then." I said. "Give me a call later on. I'll be home."

"Sounds good. Love you, Rosy."

"I love you too, Dennis."

I hung up the phone so that I could make lunch. Halfway through making it, I heard sounds outside in the front of the house. I went to the door, opening it so that I could peer through the screen.

Caroline was giggling from the tire swing while Daryl gave her pushes every now and again. He was saying something to her that was making her laugh, but I couldn't hear what he was saying.

While they played together, I packed up lunch in a basket to take outside.

"What are you two up to?" I asked, joining them outside once the basket was packed.

"Mornin', Mama." Caroline greeted me with a smile and a wave.

"Caroline." Daryl said, raising an eyebrow.

"Sorry, Daddy." Caroline waved at me again. "Good morning, Mama."

"That's better." Daryl replied, pushing the tire swing.

"I thought we could have a picnic." I said, showing them the basket. "It's so nice out."

"That's a good idea." Daryl said, pulling the tire swing to a halt.

The three of us sat together on a blanket near the stream. When Caroline had finished her lunch, she waded into the shallow water to look for frogs. Daryl and I laid back and watched her.

"I missed you this morning." I said, snuggling up to Daryl.

"I missed you too." Daryl replied, wrapping his arms around me. "I'll make it up to you tonight."

"Rain check?" I asked with a smile.

"Rain check." Daryl nodded, grinning from ear to ear.

Daryl and I watched Caroline splash through the water, chasing frogs as they leapt away from her. Daryl chuckled, shaking his head.

"I love that little girl." He murmured, watching her with loving eyes.

"I know you do." I said, running my fingers along his stubble. "I love her too."

Daryl looked down at me.

"Let's have another one."

"Another one?" I asked, trying to stifle my smile. "Don't you think Caroline is enough for us?"

"Caroline's the reason I want another one." Daryl said, brushing a strand of hair away from my face. "If we had another kid, and it turned out half as good as her, I'd be happy."

"Well…" I tapped my chin, smiling. "Let's hope this one turns out like her."

Daryl cocked an eyebrow.

"What?"

"I was going to tell you later, but…" I sat up a little, but remained in Daryl's arms. "I'm pregnant."

Daryl didn't have to say anything. The look on his face was enough to let me know how he felt. I could see the excitement, the happiness, the sheer joy glowing in his eyes. It was how he looked when he was with Caroline. It was how he looked when he was with me. He loved us, and he already loved the baby growing inside of me.

I felt Daryl's fingers running along the mood ring I still wore on my finger. I didn't have to look at it to know what color the stone was. It was always the same color when I was with Daryl and our daughter.

As Daryl kissed me, I felt all of his love pouring out into me. I knew because I felt it. I knew because he didn't have to say a word. He didn't have to say anything at all.


End file.
